BALTIMORE – The Coppin State men's and women's cross-country teams conclude their 2014 seasons at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships Saturday morning at Delaware State's Outdoor and Research Center in Smyrna.
The championships will begin with the women's five-kilometer race at 9:45 a.m., followed by the men's eight-kilometer race at 10:30 a.m. For complete men's and women's cross country championship information, visit Championship Central at www.MEACSports.com. This is the first year since 2008 that the cross-country championships will be somewhere other than UMES.
The Coppin State men are optimistic about its chances to place high in this weekend's championship race. With a strong core intact from last season's championship race, the Eagles are looking to better their eighth place of a year ago.
"Our goal this weekend is to finish among the top three," junior
Alaric Coker said. "We believe we have the talent and capabilities of going out and doing well. We've been putting in a lot of work in practices leading up to this championship so we're all pumped and excited to compete this weekend."
Coppin State returns its top three finishers from last season's MEAC cross-country championships in Coker,
Delroy Davis, and
Michael James. This season displaying their talent, balance and depth, the Eagles have been led by somebody different in each of their races.
Mark London led Coppin State in its opening meet at UMES in a time of 17 minutes, 20.08 seconds. The following week, it was Coker, who was the first Eagle across the finish line in another meet at UMES (20:33.8). The following week,
Mark London was the Eagles' fastest finisher at the Towson Invitational, which was held at the arduous and hilly Oregon Ridge Park course in Hunt Valley. He finished the five-mile course in 28:47.30.
During the month of October, London and
Kerrone White were the Eagles' top performers at the two Delaware State meets. London ran a season-best 28:26.3. Meanwhile, White ran a season-best 27:54.8 while earning a top-10 finish in the race on Oct. 17 at DSU.
"I am really excited because I feel like we have an opportunity to do some nice things this weekend," Davis said. "This weekend for us to do well, it's going to take team work and hard work to keep striving to finish that race."
On the women's side,
Kesha Medas-King has been the leader for the Eagles. She has been the fastest finisher in four of Coppin State's five meets this season. Medas-King is looking to finish among the top 20 individually. Also expected to compete for the women is sophomore
Kadeem Curtis, who was the Eagles' fastest finisher at the Delaware State meet on Oct. 3 after a personal best. Senior
Ashley Bacote will run her final collegiate race on Saturday.
Florida A&M won both the men's and women's cross-country team titles last season. The top 15 individual finishers earn All-MEAC recognition. The NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional will be held at Penn State University in State College, Pa. on Friday, Nov. 14.
The 2014 MEAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships are free and open to the public.
