Women Take 3rd and Men Take 6th at C-USA OTF Championships

Thursday, May 12

San Antonio, TX

Middle Tennessee

Conference USA Championship

Photo by: C-USA

5/15/2022 9:28:00 PM | Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, Track & Field/Cross Country

By: Braydin Sik, MT Athletic Communications

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Middle Tennessee men's and women's track and field teams took 15 trips to the podium over the weekend at the C-USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The 15 trips included nine total gold medals for the Blue Raiders. The men finished in sixth with 89 points and the women finished in third with 92 total points.

Freshman Alaba Akintola took first in both the men's 100 meter and 200 meter with stadium-record times. During the 100-meter dash, Akintola finished with a time of 10.04 seconds. His new personal best erased .03 seconds from Mardy Scales 10.04 second mark in 2004. The time was also a C-USA meet record and the ninth-fastest time in the nation. Akintola ran a time of 20.36 seconds in the men's 200-meter dash, sweeping both the indoor and outdoor 200-meter titles in 2022.

Eusila Chepkemei took gold in both the women's 800-meter and 1500-meter dashes. Chepkemei ran a time of 4:21.22 during the 1500 meter to take her first medal of the weekend. During the women's 800 meter she ran a time of 2:06.14, just a couple seconds off of her personal best.

Esther Isa took her second gold medal of the weekend with an outdoor-personal best mark of 13.37 meters in the women's triple jump. Abigail Kwarteng took third place with a personal best mark of 13.03 meters. Both marks broke the previous stadium record.

Kwarteng took gold in the women's high jump to go along with her triple jump bronze medal. She reached a height of 1.79 meters and attempted a 1.96-meter height to qualify for the Commonwealth Games but came up short.

In thrilling come-from-behind fashion, Stephen Eloji took first in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 51.42 seconds. Eloji also took bronze earlier in the afternoon with a personal-best time of 13.84 seconds in the men's 110-meter hurdles.

Distance runners, Hillary Kimaiyo and Habtamu Geta, each got a medal on their way to the finish line on Sunday. Kimaiyo took silver during the men's 1500-meter dash with a time of 3:49.51. During the men's 800-meter dash, Geta took third with a time of 1:53.64.

Glory Nyenke took bronze during the women's 400-meter dash with a time of 54.30 seconds. Later on she took eighth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.43.

The highlight of the weekend for Lyn'Nikka Vance was setting new personal-best times in both the women's 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. She reached a time of 11.68 seconds during the 100 meter and a time of 24.34 seconds during the women's 200 meter.

C-USA Championship Awards and Honors
All-Conference USA First Team

Abigail Kwarteng (HJ)
Alaba Akintola (100m, 200m)
Benjamin Onyekwelu (LJ)
Esther Isa (LJ, TJ)
Eusila Chepkemei (800m, 1500m)
Stephen Eloji (400m Hurdles)

All-Conference USA Second Team

Omamuyovwi Erhire (HJ)
Hillary Kimaiyo (1500m)

All-Conference USA Third Team

Abigail Kwarteng (TJ)
Glory Nyenke (400m)
Habtamu Geta (800m)
Stephen Eloji (110m Hurdles)

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