Thursday, May 1, 2008

MEAC Track and Field Championships Return to Morgan State May 1-3

BALTIMORE, Md. - Morgan State University will host the 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Track and Field Outdoor championships this weekend at Hughes Stadium on Thursday, May 1 through Saturday, May 3 at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Morgan State. The championships will host some of the best athletes in the country as 51 individual, and 9 relays are nationally ranked.

On the men’s side, Norfolk State will try to pursue its third straight outdoor title and fifth overall. The Spartans are led by Marlon Woods, whose leap of 7-feet in the long jump ranks him in the top five, while his jump of 25-feet in the high jump ranks 10th in the nation. Woods is also ranked in the top five in the triple jump. Also headlining the men’s individual events will be North Carolina A&T’s Calesio Newman, who is ranked fifth and seventh nationally and #1 ranked in the MEAC in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes.

The women’s team title is going to be a cat fight as favored Hampton will compete for its third straight MEAC Outdoor title and sixth overall, however North Carolina A&T, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Morgan State are all capable of dethroning the champs. The premier events should be the women’s 100 hurdles, as the top five competitors are only separated by 2/10 of a second, the 400, and the 4x400 relay, which the host Lady Bears are currently No. 1 ranked.

Thursday’s competition will begin at 10 a.m. with the women’s heptathlon and the men’s decathlon events. Friday’s competition will begin at 10 a.m. with the conclusion of the women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon events and will continue with field events along with the 5,000m run. Semifinal races will wrap up Friday’s action.

The MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will resume on Saturday at 10 a.m. on the field with the men’s and women’s triple jump, men’s shot put, men’s pole vault and women’s discus. Teams will move back to the track for the 110m hurdles, 400m, 100m, 800m, 400m hurdles, 200m, and 3,000m steeple chase finals. The championship will conclude with the women’s and men’s 4x400m relays. In case of rain, Sunday, May 4, has been designated as the rain date. A complete schedule of events is available on http://www.meacsports.com/ .

Admission for the 2008 MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships is $3 for children, students and senior citizens and $5 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at the Hughes Stadium box office the day of the event.

This release is courtesy of the Morgan State track and field office and meacsports.com

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