DSU Track & Field Runners Holmes and Dornevil Breaks MEAC Records

 

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Donte' Holmes (Hyattsville, Md.) and sophomore Ketsia Dornevil (Philadelphia, Pa.) each broke the 800m meet record Saturday at the 2012 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships as the Delaware State University men's and women's outdoor track and field team wrapped up their weekend at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.

Holmes captured the gold in the men's 800m, with a time of 1:48.55, breaking a nine-year-old record set by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's Damion Drummond (1:49.21).

In the women's race, Dornevil ran a time of 2:08.40, besting a 2:08.56 set by Coppin State's Diana Pitts in 1992.  Dornevil's time was good for third place overall and six points as UMES' Cynthia Anais broke the record with an astounding time of 2:05.97 for first place honors.  Hampton's Benita Taylor finished second with a time of 2:07.64.

Holmes was also a member of the men's 4x400m relay squad that finished first by more than a second with a season-best time of 3:08.52.  Juniors Stephen Bowe, Ryan Carter (Wilmington, Del.) and senior Tariq Devore (New York, N.Y.) joined Holmes in beating North Carolina A&T's time of 3:09.68.

Carter added six more points for DSU with his third place finish in the 400m dash with a season-best time of 46.31.  In the 200m dash, Carter tabbed one more point with an eighth place finish of 22.37.

Junior Kevaughn Laviea (Dover, Del.) recorded four points for the Hornets with his fifth-place finishing time of 53.53 in the 400m hurdles.

The Delaware State men finished ninth overall in the Championships with 45 points.  The Norfolk State Spartans tallied 145.50 points en route to their seventh consecutive Men's Outdoor Track and Field title.

On the women's side, Hampton accumulated 136 points to win their ninth MEAC Women's Outdoor crown.  The Hornets finished 11th overall with 24 points.

Senior Tracey Fan Fan (South Orange, N.J.) tallied 11 points for DSU, finishing third in the 400m hurdles and fourth in the 100m hurdles.  Fan Fan ran the 100m hurdles in 13.99 while she ran a 59.52 in the 400m hurdles.

Dornevil and Fan Fan joined junior Dashera Richardson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and senior Ayanna Kelly (Atlanta, Ga.) in the 4x400m relay, running a season-best 3:41.63 to finish fourth with five points.

Rounding out the day for the Hornets was senior Krystina Muhammad (Newark, Del.), who finished eighth overall in the women's triple jump with a distance of 11.85m.

Delaware State continues their outdoor season at the IC4A and ECAC Championships next weekend in Princeton, N.J.