MEAC's Championship Questions

On May 3-4, we head to from our home state of Ohio to Greensboro, NC to see the MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. We have a few questions going into the meet that includes some of the top performers in the nation. Here's what we want to know.

Will Kayla White crack USC's Twanisha Terry's 10.99 to reclaim the top 100-meter dash time in the NCAA?

For one day short of a month, North Carolina A&T senior Kayla White was the nation's leader in the 100-meter dash. The super confident sophomore Twanisha Terry of USC stole the lead on April 27 with a finish of 10.99 at the USC vs. UCLA meet.

No woman has ever ran under 11 seconds in the MEAC Championships. White is the all-time leader in the conference with her time of 11.04 that she recorded this year at the Florida Relays. Prior to this season, no MEAC woman had ever finished under 11.20. This season, White and Norfolk State sophomore Kiara Grant (11.18) changed the 100-meter dash standard of the conference.

Threats to White: As for the MEAC, Grant has shown promise, but Cambrea Sturgis is the dark horse in this race. She goes into the conference championship meet with the MEAC's top 200-meter dash time of 22.71, which was just a tad better than White's 22.74.

Could she do the same in the 100-meter dash and shock the world? If White runs under 11 seconds, the chances are slim, but the 2019 outdoor season has taught us to not doubt the talents of either White or Sturgis.

Which of Kayla White's NCAT teammates can take her 100-meter hurdles crown?

White has never lost in a 60-meter hurdles indoor or 100-meter hurdles outdoor finals during her career. To make it clear, she is a four-time indoor and three-time outdoor champ.

So far this outdoor season, she's only competed in the 100-meter hurdles once, winning her prelim heat with a time of 13.44 at the Aggie Invitational. As of now, she has the third best time in the MEAC for the season.

Threats to White: North Carolina A&T dominates hurdles in the MEAC. Right now, juniors Madeleine Akobundu (13.21) and TeJyrica Robinson (13.24) have the top two times in the MEAC. Freshman Paula Salmon is fourth in the conference with a time of 13.47, as North Carolina A&T is almost guaranteed to have a winner in this event. Will White be able to hold off her three talented teammates and the rest of the field one last time? We shall see.

Will anyone be able to stop Martha Bissah in the 800 and 1,500?

Martha Bissah, a Norfolk State junior, has the 11th best 800-meter run time in the NCAA at 2:04.38. She entered last weekend's action ranked 162nd worldwide in the 800-meter run, according to the IAAF rankings.

Along with having the top time in the 800, she leads the conference in the 1,500-meter run (4:18.78). Bissah has won the last two 800-meter championships in the MEAC and is also the defending 1,500-meter champ. In 2018, she placed sixth at the NCAA Championships in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:06.79.

Threats to Bissah: Though Bissah leads by a ton in both events, there are some athletes with outside shots to win. In the 800-meter run, Kristoni Barnes of North Carolina A&T has the second best MEAC time of 2:07.56. The junior was runner-up at last year's MEAC Outdoor Championships.

Infinnatie Rowe, a sophomore from Morgan State, placed 11th last season, but has improved this year to have the third highest time in the conference at 2:09.13.

Anything is possible in the 1,500-meter run, but Bissah should take this for the second straight year. We'll give our outside shot to North Carolina A&T's G'Jasmyne Butler who has the third best time in the conference of 4:38.53.

Will Quamecha Morrison successfully defend her high jump title?

As great as Morrison has been (three-time indoor MEAC high jump champ, runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships), she's only won the MEAC outdoor high jump once in her career.

The Bethune-Cookman senior's top jump of the season, 1.78, recorded at the Miami Hurricane Alumni Invitational, leads the rest of the MEAC by eight meters.

Threats to Morrison: North Carolina A&T sophomore Nazah Reddick has been a bridesmaid to Morrison in the high jump during her first season and a half. She's finished runner-up twice at the MEAC Indoor Championships, as well as at last year's outdoor conference meet. Reddick's top jump of 1.70 is second in the MEAC.

Florida A&M freshmen Rachel Robertson and Aisha Nelson are tied at 1.66 for the third best jump, and are outside threats should they qualify for the high jump final.