VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Feb. 23, 2026) — The Morgan State men's track & field team closed out its postseason indoor slate this weekend at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, held at the Virginia Beach Sports Complex. The Bears finished sixth overall with 69 points, highlighted by two podium finishes.
Norfolk State University captured the 2026 MEAC title with 124.5 points, followed by Delaware State University in second with 106 points and South Carolina State University in third with 101 points. Morgan State turned in several standout performances across both track and field events, including multiple personal-best marks.
Head coach Neville Hodge reflected, "Disappointed that we didn't meet all our goals, but I'm excited for the way the teams performed over the past two days at the MEAC Indoor Championships. We had some very rewarding moments, including a new school record in the men's pole vault, several personal and season-best marks and times. Our numbers were small, but we showed up big time."
"I'm proud of the team's effort and their willingness to fight when our backs were against the wall. We look forward to continuing this momentum into the 2026 outdoor season. Go Bears!"
MEAC Track & Field Championships | Results
Heptathlon:
Freshman Jeryco Sheppard closed out the indoor season with a fifth-place finish in the heptathlon at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, totaling 4,301 points across the seven-event competition.
Sheppard opened Sunday with a time of 7.27 seconds in the 60-meter dash to place fifth overall. He followed with a tie for fifth in the long jump, posting a leap of 6.12 meters on his second attempt, and added another fifth-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 9.83 meters. In the high jump, Sheppard captured gold with a winning clearance of 1.94 meters, narrowly missing a personal best. He edged Nanjo Levec of Delaware State University, who finished second at 1.91 meters.
On Monday, Sheppard placed sixth in the 60-meter hurdles final with a time of 8.98 seconds and tied for silver in the pole vault after clearing 4.10 meters. He concluded the heptathlon with a 3:46.83 performance in the 1,000 meters to secure his fifth-place overall finish.
DAY 1 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22
On Sunday, four Bears advanced to the finals in their respective track events. In the 400m prelims, Maxim Copeland and Antonio Sims qualified with times of 48.01 seconds (3rd place) and 48.16 seconds (4th place), respectively. In the 800m, Samuel Skinner and Caleb Mincey finished first and second, earning spots in Monday's finals. The Bears' Distance Medley Relay team – Samuel Skinner, Christian Raysor, Kennan Frisby, and Caleb Mincey – ran a strong race to finish fourth in 10:16.92.
In field events, Jeryco Sheppard led the Bears with a gold-medal performance, clearing 4.66 meters in the pole vault, a new personal best that ranks No. 3 among HBCUs this season. Jadon Ra-Akbar narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place jump of 7.05 meters, while Isaac Rankin placed seventh in the high jump, clearing 1.99 meters. The Bears continued to show strong performances on both the track and the field as the championships moved into the final day.
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Field Events:
Long Jump
Junior Jadon Ra-Akbar cleared 7.05m (PR) to place fourth. Freshman Derrick McCorkle Jr. recorded a leap of 6.96 meters to place seventh, while freshman Noah Hopes added a mark of 6.34 meters to finish 13th.
Pole Vault
Freshman Jeryco Sheppard soared to gold at the MEAC Indoor Championships by clearing 4.66 meters, setting a new personal best and school record. This mark currently ranks No. 3 among HBCUs this season, cementing Sheppard as one of the top collegiate vaulters in the conference.
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Jeryco Sheppard
Shot Put
Sophomore Demond Smith finished ninth with a toss of 14.11 meters.
High Jump
Junior Isaac Rankin placed seventh by clearing 1.99 meters, followed by sophomore KeSean-Jordan Rhooms, who posted a mark of 1.93m to take ninth place.
Track Events:
60mH
Prelims
Junior Jadon Ra-Akbar turned in a time of 8.15, finishing in 9th place, just shy of qualifying for the finals.
60m
Prelims
Sophomore Doyin Smith crossed the finish line in 9th place with a time of 6.85.
400m
Prelims
Sophomore Maxim Copeland and senior Antonio Sims qualified for the finals as they raced to personal best times of 48.01 (3rd place) and 48.16 (4th place), respectively.
800m
Prelims
Sophomore Samuel Skinner and sophomore Caleb Mincey finished 1-2 to advance to the finals. Skinner ran a 1:53.25, followed closely behind by Mincey with a 1:53.82. Freshman Keenan Frisby also qualified with a time of 1:55.20.
200m
Prelims
Sophomore Maxim Copeland finished with a time of 21.38 for ninth place, just shy of qualifying for the finals. Sophomore Doyin Smith placed 14th with a personal best time of 21.63.
4000m Distance Medley Relay
The Bears quartet, comprised of Samuel Skinner, Christian Raysor, Kennan Frisby, and Caleb Mincey, raced to a fourth-place finish with a time of 10:16.92.
DAY 2 | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23
On the final day of competition, the Bears turned in several strong efforts to close out the meet on a high note. Sophomore Demond Smith paced the field events with a silver-medal performance, recording a personal-best throw of 16.37 meters. KeSean-Jordan Rhooms added points in the triple jump, clearing 14.21 meters to place fifth overall.
On the track, sophomore Caleb Mincey clocked a personal-best 4:12.20 in the mile to earn bronze, while Samuel Skinner placed fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.44. Sophomore Maxim Copeland also finished fourth in the 400 meters (48.02). The 4x400-meter relay team of Antonio Sims, Copeland, Smith, and Myles Dorsey capped the day with a season-best 3:15.61 to secure a fourth-place finish.
Field Events:
Weight Throw
Sophomore Demond Smith grabbed silver with a personal best toss of 16.37 meters.
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Demond Smith
High Jump
Isaac Rankin recorded a mark of 1.99 meters to finish seventh, and teammate KeSean-Jordan Rhooms placed ninth by clearing 1.93 meters.
Triple Jump
KeSean-Jordan Rhooms cleared 14.21 meters to finish in fifth place. Nicardo Grey-Clarke took ninth with a mark of 13.94 meters.
Track Events:
1 Mile
Sophomore Caleb Mincey delivered a strong performance, clocking a personal best time of 4:12.20 to earn the bronze medal.
400m
Sophomore Maxim Copeland came up just outside of a podium finish as he placed fourth with a time of 48.02, followed by senior Antonio Sims, who placed fifth with a time of 48.45.
800m
Samuel Skinner finished with a time of 1:52.44 to place fourth. Keenan Frisby and Caleb Mincey secured seventh (1:55.16) and eighth place (2:00.56), respectively.
4x400m Relay
The Bears quartet of Antonio Sims, Maxim Copeland, Demond Smith, and Myles Dorsey crossed the tape in a season-best 3:15.61 to finish fourth overall.
The top three finishers in each event were named All-MEAC. Â Â
ALL-MEACÂ Â
First Team:Â Jeryco Sheppard, MSU (PV)
Second Team:Â Demond Smith, MSU (WT)
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
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