LANDOVER, Md. – A young North Carolina A&T men's indoor track and field team finished second at the 2016 MEAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the Prince George Learning Complex. It marked the sixth straight second-place finish for a N.C. A&T men's track and field program. But again, they're young.
The Aggie women finished third for the second consecutive season. But again, they're young.
The MEAC indoor championships concluded with the Aggies coming away with a combined seven first-place finishes and eight athletes earned first-team All-MEAC honors. Two of those first teamers are freshmen, four are sophomores and two are juniors. The men's 113 points were nine fewer than back-to-back champion Bethune-Cookman (122). The ladies had 81 points to finish behind Florida A&M (114) and six-time champion Hampton (1433.33).
Sophomore India Brown had a breakout weekend for the Aggies. She brought home two gold medals for the Aggies by dominating the women's 60 and 200 meters. She completed the 60 in 7.45, five-tenths of a second faster than B-CU's Tristie Johnson who had the fastest qualifying time. Brown also beat Johnson's time in the 200, besting Johnson's 24.38 by running a 23.92.
"I'm so very proud of India and her performances,” said Duane Ross, director of track and field programs. “She's been working hard this year and she refused to be beaten.”
Another sophomore, Morgan Knight, had a standout day as she broke the previous MEAC record in the women's pole vault by clearing the bar at 11-feet, 5-inches to defeat the previous record (11-feet, 4-inches) set by Sasha Smallwood in 2013. Knight also made for a lethal combination in the women's 60 meter hurdles. Aggie freshman Kayla White won the event in 8.39 followed by Knight's time of 8.41. Knight was the 60mh champion last season.
"Morgan is a champion and always shows up,” said Ross.
Speaking of MEAC records, freshman Michael Dickson tied the MEAC record in the men's 60mh, sprinting and jumping his way to a first-place finish with a time of 7.85. Within the hour, Dickson also placed fifth in the 200 after clocking 22.11 and sixth in the 60-meter with a 6.89.
Junior Maurice Eaddy also captured a title, he ran the men's 60 in 6.80 to capture his first career conference indoor title.
Four more individuals were added to the list of first-team all-conference after the men's 4X400 relay came close to the MEAC record of 3:14.22 as freshman Justin Hamilton, junior Dorian Claggett, sophomore Corey Aiken, and sophomore Dajuan Harding completed the event in 3:14.54.
The Aggies also had a few third-team all-conference performances; Hamilton had two of those efforts. Hamilton placed third in the 200 (21.78) and in the 400 (48.94). White claimed third-team honors in the women's 60, finishing the race in 7.51, while freshman Yakira Love finished the 200 in 24.57. Also, junior Darren White claimed third-team for the distance runners in the 5000m, clocking 15:15.78.
But even with all the youthful success the Aggies had over the weekend, perhaps the most inspirational performances came from a senior. Kevin Francis badly injured his knee in the first game of the Aggies football season in 2015. He battled back to help the football team win the 2015 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl and HBCU National Championship in December. His knee injury, however, prevented the 2015 regional qualifier in the 110mh from really perfecting his craft during the indoor season. Despite the setbacks, when Ross asked the senior New Yorker to compete in the heptathlon two days before the MEAC indoors, Francis responded by saying, “no problem coach.” Francis, with a bad knee, competed in the demanding 10-event competition that included a pole vaulting event he learned how to execute the day before the meet. Francis finished fifth giving the Aggies four points in his first time participating in the event.
“Kevin epitomizes what I envision for this program,” said Ross. “He came out this week to compete and win. This was his first time doing this grueling event, and he was in position to win it going into the 1000. He gave it everything he had and made us all proud. He makes you proud to coach him.”
As far as the overall performance for the men, Ross said he believes he has the best team in the MEAC and one of the best in the country when everyone is on the same page. “This was a much needed lesson for our student-athletes,” he said. “Individual wins don't necessarily mean a team championship. Everyone must show up for battle.”
On the women's side Ross said he believes this women's team is much stronger than last season's third-place team. “The sprinters and the hurdlers dominated the track winning both the 60 and the 200 meters and sweeping the hurdles,” Ross said. “But we won't win a championship together until they learn to come together.”
Men:
All-MEAC First Team
Michael Dickson, 60mh; Maurice Eaddy, 60m; Justin Hamilton, 4x4; Dorian Claggett, 4x4; Corey Aiken, 4x4; Dajuan Harding 4x4
All-MEAC Third Team
Justin Hamilton, 200m, 400m; Darren White, 5000m
Women:
All-MEAC First Team
Morgan Knight, pole vault; Kayla White, 60mh; India Brown, 60m, 200m
All-MEAC Second Team
Morgan Knight, 60mh
All-MEAC Third Team
Kayla White, 60m; Yakira Love, 200m
