ETTRICK, VA – The Virginia State Women's Outdoor Track & Field Program is set to travel to Durham, NC for the 2023 CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 5-6 at Durham County Stadium.
The Trojans and first-year head coach Frank Hyland are looking to build on the success of their second-place finish at the 2023 CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Currently, the Trojans are ranked third in the CIAA and 23rd in the Atlantic Region by the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA).
Virginia State will enter this weekend with the top runner in the 800-meter and 3000-meter in the CIAA in junior Emoni Coleman. Coleman's time of 2:14.33 in the 800-meter leads the conference and she is second in the 1500-meter with a time of 4:59.13. Coleman is fourth regionally in the 800-meter. Manuelene Deigh ranks first in the 3000-meter (11:09.86) and second in the 5000-meter (20:30.74).
Additionally, Miracle Price is second in the conference and ninth regionally in the 800-meter with a time of 2:16.69, Alandina Hyppolite is third in the CIAA in the 1500-meter (5:02.93), and Manuela Deigh is fourth in the 5000 meters (21:02.63).
In field events, Janiya Harmon has several top marks in the league, sitting at third in the hammer throw (32.44 meters), fourth in the shot put (11.85 meters), eighth in the discus (36.95 meters), and eighth in the javelin (29.23 meters). In the Atlantic Region, Harmon is 20th in the shot put and 29th in the discus.
Emoni Coleman was named the 2023 CIAA Women's Indoor Championship MVP for running events by earning the gold medals in the 800-meters (2:20.30) and the mile run (5:36.15). Elisha Barnes was the CIAA Indoor Track & Field 200-meter champion, Manuelene Deigh was the CIAA Indoor Track & Field 3000-meter champion, and Harmon placed second in the shot put.
At the 2022 CIAA Cross Country Championships in the fall, Virginia State garnered a silver medal behind fourth, sixth, and eighth-place finishes from Manuelene Deigh, Manuela Deigh, and Hyppolite. Last season at the 2022 CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Trojans finished fifth with 56 points.
