CARY, N.C. – The North Carolina Central men's and women's cross country teams each captured third-place awards at the MEAC Championships, which was held at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday.
Four NCCU runners earned All-MEAC honors, which is given to the top 15 men's and women's finishers. On the women's side,
Alitza Dennard,
Kayla Johnson and
Navi McDowell placed 10
th, 11
th and 12
th, respectively. Among the men,
Emmanuel Paddyfote was named All-MEAC after placing fourth.
WOMEN'S 5K RACE
The trio of Dennard, Johnson and McDowell paced the Eagles to an impressive finish, beating every team except MEAC champion Howard and runner-up Norfolk State. Howard scored 34 points followed by Norfolk State with 54 points and NCCU with 71 points in the eight-team race. Laila Johnson placed 17
th,
Gianna Marquez was 21
st and
Victoria Swepson finished 24 in the meet which featured 49 runners.
MEN'S 8K RACE
Running his best race of the season, Paddyfote led the Eagles to a top-three finish in the eight-team race. Norfolk State was the MEAC winner with 55 points followed by Delaware State with 70 points and NCCU with 91 points. The Eagles finished ahead of five squads in the eight-team race. His time of 24:45.7 was a career-high for Paddyfote, one of two Eagles who placed in the top 20.
Avan Hinkle was 16
th,
Evans Kimutai was 21
st,
Ryan Chong placed 24
th and Juan Tinajero finished 26
th in the 55-man race.
QUOTE
"I am extremely proud of the effort both teams put forth in this championship meet. They did an amazing job. We had several PRs and all-conference finishes. Hopefully, we can transition this into the indoor [track & field] season and bring home some more hardware." –
said Fabrienne Swepson, NCCU Interim Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
NCCU WOMEN'S TOP RESULTS
10th –
Alitza Dennard – 19:06.2
11th –
Kayla Johnson – 19:18.0
12th –
Navi McDowell – 19:18.8
17th –
Laila Jackson – 19:29.8
21st –
Gianna Marquez – 19:50.0 (personal best)
24th –
Victoria Swepson – 20:02.0
(49 runners competed)
NCCU MEN'S TOP RESULTS
4th –
Emmanuel Paddyfote – 24:45.7 (personal best)
16th –
Avan Hinkle – 26:02.6
21st –
Evans Kimutai – 26:26.0
24th –
Ryan Chong – 27:11.9
26th –
Juan Tinajero Jr. – 27:35.4
(55 runners competed)
MEAC WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS
1. Howard - 34 points
2. Norfolk State - 54
3. NCCU - 71
4. UMES - 78
5. Delaware State - 126
6. Morgan State - 138
7. S.C. State - 187
8. Coppin State - 211
MEAC MEN'S TEAM RESULTS
1. Norfolk State - 55
2. Delaware State - 70
3. NCCU -91
4. UMES - 108
5. Morgan State - 110
6. Howard - 114
7. S.C. State - 128
8. Coppin State - 168
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.
