UMES Men's Cross Country Brings Home a MEAC Title

SMYRNA, Delaware — On a cold and muddy field in Kent County, Delaware earlier today, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore cross country teams made their hard work from the past two months pay off. The men’s team captured victory and brought home the MEAC Championship while the women’s team also earned a solid finish by coming in third. This is the third men’s cross country championship overall and the first for the squad since 2007, and the win also gave the UMES track & field teams their 13th title dating back to 1963.

With a final tally of 45 points, the Hawks finished 22 points ahead of second place North Carolina A&T. This included three top ten finishers, while all of the five UMES runners that accounted for the team’s points placed in the top twenty. The Lady Hawks finished with a total of 78 points, eight points behind second place Morgan State.

As the case has been all season long, sophomores Khalil Rmidi Kinini (Malaga, Spain) and Barbora Blahutova (Slavkov, Czech Republic) led their respective teams and in the process were awarded by the MEAC as the Most Oustanding Performer in the race. Both managed to keep their undefeated streak intact with first place finishes. Kinini blasted the competition by finishing with a time of 25:53.6 in the 8k race, a full 45 seconds ahead of the man who finished in second. Although her trailers were closer, Blahutova completed her 5k race with a time of 18:37.3, twelve seconds faster than anyone else.

Other Hawks who registered scoring times for the men included junior Mark Tuwei (Eldoret, Kenya) who took home fourth with a time of 27:13.5, sophomore Derrick Cheruiyot (Nairobi, Kenya) who ran a clip of 27:56.8 to place tenth. Freshman Nelson Kimutai (Eldoret, Kenya) came in 11th place right behind Cheruiyot with a 27:56.9 time, and sophomore Nassor Whitehead (Sunrise, Fla.) rounded out the scoring with a time of 28:46.0, good for 19th.
Three more UMES runners ran in the men’s race with freshman Stanley Meli (Eldoret, Kenya) finishing 34th, sophomore Justin Atkins (Washington, D.C) coming in 41st, and sophomore Michael Johnson (Ramstein, Germany) locking in 46th place.

For the Lady Hawks, sophomore Rachel Halmon (Waldorf, Md.) was the second to cross the finish line, coming in 11th place with a time of 19:37.9. Junior Jheniel Kelly (Edgewood, Md.) ran the course in just over 20 minutes to finish 19th. Three more Hawks crossed in a row shortly after, with junior Shantol Hemley (St. Catherine’s, Jamaica) finishing 23rd, freshman Janice Lane (Carson, Calif.) coming in 24th, and senior Margaret Wilmot-Francis (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) took home 25th, with all three coming across within four seconds of each other. Lane’s place wrapped up the scoring for the Lady Hawks.

Freshman Dypna Umunakwe (Bronx, N.Y.) ended up 31st finishing under 21 minutes, while senior Jasmine Sampson (Coatesville, Pa.) finished just over 21 minutes to end the race in 38th. Sophomore Shelasia Leitch (Newark, N.J.) ended with a time of 23:47.7 to finish 68th in the field of 87 runners.

In recognition of his team’s efforts, Hawks head coach Ernest Barrett was recognized as the MEAC men’s Most Outstanding Coach.

Florida A&M joined UMES as the other school to claim a title as their women’s team won with a total of 38 points. The victory marked the Rattlers’ third straight championship in women’s cross country.

The Hawks will travel to State College, Pa. to put their strong finishes with the best of the east coast when they compete in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on November 14th.

Results

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SPORTS INFORMATION