MEACÂ Outdoor Day 2 Results
GREENSBORO, N.C. –Â
Felix Kiprotich and
Kellyann James earned fifth-place finishes in their respective events to highlight the second day of competition for the Norfolk State track and field teams at the 2018 MEAC Outdoor Championships on the campus of North Carolina A&T.
Kiprotich placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing in 9 minutes, 51.23 seconds.
Tomas Fantaye claimed eighth in the same event (10:00.09) as the Spartans stand in fifth place in the team standings with 34 points through eight events.
James tallied 4,731 points in the heptathlon to also secure a fifth-place finish. She was particularly strong in the javelin throw, finishing third among heptathlon competitors with a top throw of 96 feet, 7 inches. Led by James' four points in that event and an eighth-place finish by freshman
Takiyah Lewis in the hammer throw (PR of 143-1), the Spartan women have 10 points for the week and are in seventh place in the team standings.
Friday was a strong day for both teams in the preliminary heats. On the women's side, the Spartans advanced two runners each to Saturday's finals in the 100 and 800 meters and one in the 400 and 100-meter hurdles. In the 100, freshman
Kiara Grant (11.58 seconds) and junior
Tyrika Lee (11.66) both ran personal bests to advance to the finals. Freshman
Malika Pride also posted a PR, running a time of 54.96 seconds in the 400 meters to qualify for the event final.Â
In the 800, defending champion
Martha Bissah posted the fastest qualifying time (2:06.80) and senior
Candice Higgins also finished among the top eight in the heats (2:11.46) to advance to the final. Junior
Taejah Robertson was the fourth-fastest qualifier for Saturday's final in the 100 hurdles after posting a preliminary time of 13.66 seconds.
In the men's prelims, freshman
Keith Brown clocked a PR of 10.46 seconds and was second-fastest in his heat to qualify for Saturday's final. Fellow freshman
Trequan Barnes, the MEAC indoor 400-meter champion, advanced to the finals in the quarter-mile with a time of 46.26 seconds, his second-fastest time of the season.
Saturday's final day of action starts with field events at 9 a.m. Running finals begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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