NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's
Andrew Betton won the decathlon in record fashion at the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Norfolk State on Friday at William 'Dick' Price Stadium.
A senior from Kingston, Jamaica, Betton totaled 6,697 points, breaking a 20-year MEAC record held by Morgan State's
Alan Mitchell by four points. Betton, who also broke his own school record in the event, held a lead after the first day and continued to hold the advantage through seven events before falling to second after the pole vault and through the javelin.
Betton secured the title after dominating the 1,500m Run in the tenth and final event, clocking a 4:39.92 for 681 points and besting the nearest competitor by nearly 25 seconds.
Jeff Hammond also stood on the podium after recording a second-place finish in the long jump, leaping 7.65m (25' 1.25") which should advance him to NCAA East Regional competition.
Fiyin Amori also competed in the event and traveled 5.90m.
Humed Nura placed fifth in the 3,000m Steeplechase in a personal record 10:44.75, good enough for fourth on the CSU all-time list.
The Eagles saw numerous athletes qualify for Saturday's final in the 100m, 400m and 800m events.
Solomon Hammond (10.12) and
Carl Drakes (10.25) ran the top two times of the day in the 100m while
Chris Adekoya and
Cole Schlotterbeck narrowly missed out on advancing with times of 10:55 and 10.57.
Daniel Cunningham moved on to Saturday in the 400m with a time of 47.68, with No
xroy Wright clocking a 48.26.
Led by
Jayeed Norbal with a personal record 1:51.51, three Eagles advanced in the 800m with
Etiam Torgbenu (1:52.47) and defending MEAC Champion
Asa Francis (1:53.20).
On the women's side,
Halutie Hor and
Kyah La Fortune advanced to Saturday's final in the 100m and 400m dash, respectively. Hor clocked an 11.48 with
Benidicta Kwartemaa and
Gifty Oku finishing in 11.76 and 11.91. La Fortune PR in 54.94, as did
Tracey Riley in 56.05 despite not moving on.
Season bests were also turned in by
Karima Davenport-White in the 100m hurdles (14.94) and
Raniya Perry in the shot put who took 13
th with a toss of 10.25m (33' 7.50").
Coppin State Track & Field Schedule for Saturday, May 17 (Times Are Approximate)
10:00 am:
Fiyin Amori (triple jump)
1:00 pm:
Alexander Dobson-Honablue (javelin)
1:00 pm: Women's 4x100m Relay
1:10 pm: Men's 4x100m Relay
1:25 pm:
Humed Nura (1,500m Run)
2:00 pm:
Kyah La Fortune (400m dash)
2:05 pm:
Daniel Cunningham (400m dash)
2:15 pm:
Halutie Hor (100m dash)
2:25 pm:
Carl Drakes,
Solomon Hammond (100m dash)
2:35 pm:
Jayeed Norbal,
Etiam Torgbenu,
Asa Francis (800m Run)
3:05 pm:
Jarrett Gentles (400m hurdles)
3:15 pm:
Kyah La Fortune,
Halutie Hor (200m dash)
3:20 pm:
Carl Drakes,
Solomon Hammond (200m dash)
4:00 pm:
Humed Nura (5,000m Run)
4:35 pm: Women's 4x400m Relay
4:55 pm: Men's 4x400m Relay
