ORANGEBURG, SC – The South Carolina State track and field teams had another impressive outing over the weekend (Jan. 24-25) at the RADD College Invitational and Multis at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center in Gainesville, FL.
Coach Donald Cooper's teams won two events, had runner-up finishes in three others, and combined for a total of twenty-one (21) Top 10 showings at the competition, with a number of SC State competitors qualifying for the MEAC Indoor Championships Feb. 23-24 at Virginia Beach, VA.
Grabbing firsts for SC State in the men's competition were
Javon Brooks in the 300m (34.21), and Michael Hopkins in the Heptathlon (4791 points). Finishing as runner-ups were
Thomas White in the triple jump (14.68m; 48-2 ft.),
Kenton George in the Heptathlon (4706 pts.), Mason Miles in the shot put (13.82m; 45-04.25 ft.), and
Angelica Frederick in the women's 300m (39.75).
Robert Carter and
Jalen Alleyne were third in the weight throw (14.56m, 47-9.25 ft.) and 200m (21.92), respectively, while earning fourth-place finishes were Martin Hare, Jr. in the weight throw (14.33m, 47-0.25 ft.), Christian Washington in the Heptathlon (4671 pts.),
Jacob Alexander in the 800 meters (1:52.54),
Jourdon Cooper in the Pentathlon (3050 pts.), and Keira Smalls in the 60m hurdles (8.86).
"We are continuing to put pieces together as we prepare for the indoor conference meet next month," said Cooper following the competition. The goal was to get more athletes qualified for the indoor championship and we achieved that."
Six additional SC State athletes earned qualifying marks for the MEAC Indoor Championship, giving Cooper's teams a combined 17 athletes in 27 events, thus far, who will participate at the competition. Cooper said he expected several others to meet the standards as well.
"Our men's team had a well-rounded performance at the meet," noted Cooper. "The heptathletes (Hopkins, George, Washington and Isaiah Johnson) led the way. We also got solid performances from our hurdlers (Bryce Wilson and Alexander Hollimon), sprinters (Brooks and Alleyne), mid-distance runners (Alexander and Kameron Sutton), throwers (Carter, Miles and Hare), and jumpers (White and
Erick Hill).
"Our women had good performances in the pentathlon (
Jourdon Cooper and
Sydney Cooper), sprints (Frederick) hurdles (Smalls) and high jump (
Kennedy Spears)."
ABOUT SC STATE ATHLETICS
South Carolina State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 14 sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track & field, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, women's soccer and football with all teams competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), except for women's soccer.
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