NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's
Andrew Betton leads the decathlon after the first day of the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Norfolk State University on Thursday at William 'Dick' Price Stadium.
A senior from Kingston, Jamaica, Betton totaled 3,726 points through five events and leads South Carolina State's Michael Hopkins and Christian Washington by 136 points apiece. Betton took second at last year's MEAC Championships with 6,228 points which is the CSU school-record.
Betton opened the event with a 10.90 in the 100m to score 883 points and followed with a leap of 6.80m (22' 3.75") in the long jump for 767 points. After a toss of 10.78 in the shot put for 533 points, he took the lead after clearing 1.96m (6' 5") in the high jump and closed the day with a 50.85 in the 400m dash.
Later in the day, Betton took fifth overall in the open high jump, clearing 1.95m (6' 4.75") with
Jaidyn Brown also competing and taking 11
th overall (1.85m | 6' 0.75").
The Eagles also had
Solomon Hammond, Carl Drakes and
Jarrett Gentles win their heats in their respective events to qualify for those finals which will be held on Saturday. Hammond clocked a 21.23 in the 200m with Drakes finishing in 21.41 to automatically qualify for the finals while Gentles cruised to a time of 51.85 in the 400m hurdles.
Noxroy Wright and
Cole Schlotterbeck recorded times of 21.94 and 22.03, respectively, in the 200m dash but were unable to advance to the next round.
To close out the day,
Whisper Shikwa took eighth in the 10,000m Run with a time of 38:32.45.
On the women's side,
Kyah La Fortune and
Halutie Hor qualified for the finals of the 200m dash with times of 23.94 and 24.31, respectively. La Fortune advanced automatically with a win in her heat.
Gifty Oku and
Benidicta Kwartemaa recorded times of 24.60 and 24.75 in the 200m dash to place 12
th and 17
th overall.
Coppin State Schedule on Day Two | May 16, 2025 (Times are approximate)
9:00 am: Andrew Betton (Decathlon 110m hurdles)
9:40 am: Andrew Betton (Decathlon Discus)
11:15 am: Andrew Betton (Decathlon Pole Vault)
11:30 am: Woizero Richards (long jump),
Raniya Perry (shot put)
1:00 pm: Andrew Betton (Decathlon Javelin)
2:00 pm: Fiyin Amori,
Jeff Hammond (long jump)
2:15 pm: Andrew Betton (Decathlon 1,500m Run)
2:50 pm: Karima Davenport-White (100m hurdles)
3:20 pm: Kyah La Fortune,
Tracey Riley (400m dash)
3:40 pm: Noxroy Wright,
Daniel Cunningham (400m dash)
4:00 pm: Benidicta Kwartemaa,
Serena Harrison,
Halutie Hor,
Gifty Oku (100m dash)
4:15 pm: Solomon Hammond,
Chris Adekoya,
Cole Schlotterbeck,
Carl Drakes (100m dash)
4:50 pm: Jayeed Norbal,
Asa Francis,
Etiam Torgbenu (800m Run)
6:00 pm: Humed Nura (3,000m Steeplechase)
