NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's
Joseph Manu won the 100m and 200m dash and led the Eagles 4x400m Relay to gold in the final day of the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium. In the team standings, Coppin finished sixth overall with 71 total points.
A senior from Accra, Ghana, Manu nearly matched his preliminary time, clocking a 10.20 in the 100m dash for his first of three gold medals on the day. Manu then blew out the competition in the 200m, finishing in a personal-record 20.42, which is the second-fastest in CSU history and ranks in the Top 25 nationally.
Manu helped the 4x100m Relay to a bronze medal to start the day as he
Abayie Opuni,
Mauriel Carty and
Bryce Pepukayi finished in a season-best 40.82. The final race of the day was the 4x400m Relay and he, along with Opuni,
Randy Serville and
Amadou Ba won it in a season-best 3:10.29, cracking Coppin's all-time top ten.
Opuni and Ba took the silver in their individual events, with Opuni finishing the 400m in a season-best 47.19 while Ba covered the 800m in 1:52.48.
Recording a major personal record was
Ivan Wiggins in the 400m hurdles. Coming into the weekend with a 56.23, Wiggins took fifth in the event in 53.62, cutting 2.5 seconds off his time.
Also scoring points for the Eagles was Carty in the 200m dash, where he took sixth in 21.47.
The NCAA East Preliminaries are set for May 25-28 in Bloomington, Ind., where athletes who rank among the top 48 in their respective events earn a berth. In addition, the best 24 relays times advance to the NCAA preliminary rounds.
