Tidewater Teams win MEAC Cross Country Titles
October 27, 2006
CARY, N.C. – The Hampton University women and the Norfolk State University men captured the 2006 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship titles Friday morning at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
 Norfolk State won its seventh consecutive MEAC title, scoring 25 total points. The Lady Pirates, who scored 63 points, won their second overall title and their first since the 2004 season.
Howard’s Jessica Neal and Norfolk State’s David Kemboi were named MEAC Outstanding Performers. Neal, a transfer from Ohio State, finished first in the women’s race with a personal best time of 17:47.3 and Kemboi finished with a time of 24:29.3 to win the men’s race for the second consecutive year.
“This was a good course, Hampton’s Krystle Medlin (last year’s outstanding performer) and some of the runners from Maryland Eastern Shore paced the race. We ran in a pack and I came from the back to win, said Neal.”
“The course was different from last year, said Kemboi. So I had to make some adjustments. Overall it was a good race and our team did very well.”
Hampton’s Maurice Pierce was named the Outstanding Coach for the women and Kenneth Giles of Norfolk State was selected the Outstanding Coach for the men.
“Last year’s third place finish was unfamiliar to us due to injuries, said Pierce. This year, we were prepared and healthy. This is a plus for us starting out the track and field season.”
“Winning the MEAC cross country championship was one of our goals this year, in our quest to repeat this season, replied Giles. All of our runners ran quality races this season and it helped us prepare for both the conference championships and the NCAA Nationals.”
On the women’s side, Howard was second (93), followed by Norfolk State (95), Morgan State (96) and the University of Maryland Eastern (109).
For the men, second place went to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (97) , followed by last year’s runners-up Florida A&M (99), Delaware State (117) and North Carolina A&T (119).
2006 MEAC Cross Country Championship Results
| Women’s Team Results |
|
Men’s Team Results |
| 1. Hampton |
63 |
|
1. Norfolk State |
25 |
| 2. Howard |
93 |
|
2. Maryland Eastern Shore |
97 |
| 3. Norfolk State |
95 |
|
3. Florida A&M |
99 |
| 4. Morgan State |
96 |
|
4. Delaware State |
117 |
| 5. Maryland Eastern Shore |
109 |
|
5. North Carolina A&T |
119 |
| 6. Delaware State |
139 |
|
6. Howard |
140 |
| 7. South Carolina State |
173 |
|
7. Coppin State |
168 |
| 8. Bethune-Cookman |
176 |
|
8. Bethune-Cookman |
193 |
| 9. Florida A&M |
188 |
|
9. Hampton |
220 |
| 10. North Carolina A&T |
296 |
|
10. South Carolina State |
259 |
| 11. Coppin State |
299 |
|
11. Morgan State |
263 |
Top 15 Finishers (Women)
| 1. Jessica Neal |
Howard |
17:47.3 |
| 2. Merrecia James |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
17:59.7 |
| 3. Krystle Medlin |
Hampton |
18:09.0 |
| 4. Janeth Chelangat |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
18:13.1 |
| 5. Betty Chumbe |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
18:16.6 |
| 6. Janet Chepkonga |
Morgan State |
18:50.9 |
| 7. Fabiana Perlingeiro |
Norfolk State |
18:51.8 |
| 8. Jitka Vaculikova |
Hampton |
19:01.4 |
| 9. Mallory Ross |
Delaware State |
19:07.8 |
| 10. Amanda Stevenson |
Howard |
19:18.7 |
| 11. Yatandrea Burke |
Florida A&M |
19:33.7 |
| 12. Cuquie Melville |
Delaware State |
19:38.8 |
| 13. Melissa Ifie |
Norfolk State |
19:40.5 |
| 14. Charmaine Darden |
Hampton |
19:40.9 |
| 15. Valonne Givens |
Bethune-Cookman |
19:42.6 |
Top 15 Finishers (Men)
| 1. David Kemboi |
Norfolk State |
24:29.3 |
| 2. Dominic Luka |
Norfolk State |
25:00.0 |
| 3. Alfred Singoei |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
25:07.3 |
| 4. Anthony Littlejohn |
Coppin State |
25:39.7 |
| 5. Jonathan Soimo |
Norfolk State |
25:42.9 |
| 6. Hillary Cheruiyot |
Norfolk State |
26:22.4 |
| 7. Brian Griffith |
Florida A&M |
26:40.6 |
| 8. Brandon West |
Florida A&M |
26:41.4 |
| 9. Rashad Burnette |
North Carolina A&T |
26:41.8 |
| 10. Carlos Franklin |
Florida A&M |
26:44.0 |
| 11. Keenan Harris |
Norfolk State |
26:54.3 |
| 12. Solomon Kirongo |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
26:56.4 |
| 13. Liam Arocho |
Norfolk State |
27:35.8 |
| 14. Andre Mcdonald |
Delaware State |
27:36.8 |
| 15. Kavaugh Brown |
North Carolina A&T |
27:38.5 |
|
