Hampton sweeps 2014 MEAC Indoor Track and Field Championships

LANDOVER, Maryland  -- Hampton University swept the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Prince George’s Sports Complex on Saturday.

The Lady Pirates celebrated its second consecutive and seventh overall MEAC indoor crown with a total of 147 points. Florida A&M placed second with 133 points and Morgan State finished third with 74 points.

Norfolk State garnered 64 points to grab fourth, followed by Bethune-Cookman (63), Coppin State (56), Maryland Eastern Shore (29), North Carolina Central (28), Savannah State (22), Delaware State (18), Howard (18), North Carolina A&T (8) and South Carolina State (6).

Hampton’s Teiara Denmark finished with 32 points to earn the Outstanding Field Athlete and teammate Ce’aira Brown garnered the Outstanding Runner with 25 points.

Hampton head coach Maurice Pierce earned Outstanding Coach honors for both teams.

“This was definitely a whole team effort,” Pierce said. “Both teams cheered for each other and we came together. We weren’t even predicted to win on the men’s side. We came through in the clutch as everyone showed up and did their part.”

On the men’s side, Hampton won its first crown since 1996 with 114 points and snapped Norfolk State’s run of five of the last six championships. The Spartans were unable to defend the title due to postseason ineligibility.

Bethune-Cookman finished second with 109 points, while North Carolina A&T placed third with 95 points.

Florida A&M finished fourth with 95 points, followed by Maryland Eastern Shore (64), Howard (64), Morgan State (40) Coppin State (39), South Carolina State (32), Savannah State (31) and Delaware State (6).

Maryland Eastern Shore’s Dillon Simon finished with 18 points and set a MEAC record in the shot put with 18.35m (60-02.50 ft.) to earn Outstanding Field Athlete. Simon broke Morgan State’s Tyron Benjamin’s mark of 18.01m, set in 2009.

Deon Clifford of Florida A&M, who won the 5,000m on Friday and the 3,000m on Saturday, took top honors as the Outstanding Track Athlete with 30.50 points. Clifford also was second in the mile and a member of the Rattlers’ first-place team in the distance medley relay.

The Hampton 4x400 relay team of Rayon Black, Edose Ibadin, Chidi Okezie and Je’von Hutchinson also set a meet record by breaking Norfolk State’s mark with a time of 3:14.22.



COURTESY MEAC MEDIA RELATIONS