Day 1 Results

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Ian Copeland set a new school record in the discus throw, and the Spartans amassed 22 points in the men's 5,000 meters to highlight opening-day action at the 2013 MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at North Carolina A&T.

Through the three event finals contested on the first day, the NSU men are in first place with 28.5 points. South Carolina State is second with 27.

Copeland placed third in the discus with a personal-best throw of 47.44 meters, or 155 feet, 8 inches. That beat his own school record by nearly five feet.

NSU capped the day by having four runners place in the top six of the 5,000 meters. Junior Nathnael Meseret was second in 15 minutes, 5.87 seconds. Classmate Damtew Adnew was third in 15:14.11, and freshman Sammy Kiptoo placed fourth in 15:27.22. Senior Amos Kipkosgei rounded out NSU's runners with a time of 15:34.96.

The Spartans did hit one unexpected obstacle Thursday as junior James Taylor had a false start in the 200 meter semifinals. Despite that, freshman Damian Smith ran the second-fastest qualifying time in that event, running a new PR in 21.14 seconds to advance to Saturday's final.

Also Thursday, seniors Kenneth Smith and Keith Nkrumah both qualified for Saturday's final of the 400 hurdles.

Competition resumes at 9 a.m. Friday. Admission is free, and live results are available here.