Johnelle Johnson cops double at MEAC
Former Edwin Allen representative Johnelle Johnson was a double winner for Morgan State University at the Mid-Eastern Athletics Conference (MEAC) Outdoor track-and-field championships at Norfolk State University, winning the women’s discus throw and shot put events.
Johnson, who transferred from Division 2 Benedict College, was one of four Jamaicans who won throwing titles at their respective outdoor championships.
Zachary Dillon of Morgan State won the men’s discus throw at the MEAC event, Kevin Nedric of Liberty University won the Atlantic Sun Men’s discus throw and Gabrielle Bailey of Kent State won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) women’s shot put event.
Daniella Anglin of South Dakota won the Summit League high jump title on Friday.
Johnson won the discus throw on Thursday’s opening day of the MEAC championships with 43.22 metres and then returned Friday to win the shot put with a personal best 13.93m.
Dillon, the former Calabar High thrower, won his first MEAC title when he threw 50.23 metres and was sixth in the shot put on Friday with 14.82m.
Nedrick won his first Atlantic Sun title, winning the men’s discus throw on Friday with 58.36m, his Liberty University teammate Warren Barrett was sixth with 50.54m, Kyle Mitchell also of Liberty was seventh with 48.96m and Courtney Lawrence of Kennesaw State University was eighth with 46.77m.
A day earlier Nedrick placed third in the men’s javelin with a best mark of 61.50m while Lawrence was seventh in the men’s hammer throw with 48.99m.
Bailey, the former St Jago High standout, won the women’s shot put at the MAC championships, throwing a personal best 17.02m, beating her previous 16.79m.
Former Immaculate Conception High thrower, Kadian Clarke of Eastern Michigan was fourth with 15.48m and another Kent State thrower Aliesha Shaw, formerly of Rusea’s High was seventh with 15.11m in her first outdoors championships.
On Friday, Clarke had placed second in the hammer throw with 58.75m.
Anglin, the former Herbert Morrison Technical ISSA Champs medalist, added the Summit outdoors title to the indoors she won earlier, clearing 1.79m.
Meanwhile, Owayne Owens of the University of Virginia, failed to defend his Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men’s triple jump title, finishing second at the championships held at Duke, only managing 16.18m (1.1m/s).
Marie Forbes of Clemson was sixth in the women’s hammer throw with 58.30m while her teammate Daniel Cope was 13th in the men’s hammer.
At the MEAC championships, Kobe Jordan Rhooms of Morgan State was second in the men’s high jump with 2.08m and his teammate Omari McKenzie was fifth with a personal best 1.98m.
Rhooms was also fifth in the long jump on Friday was 7.29m (1.4m/s).