THE first NCAA Division 1 Conference Championships was decided over the weekend as the two-day Mid-Eastern Athletics Championship (MEAC), which involved a host of Jamaican athletes, came to an end on Saturday night at the Prince Georges Sports Complex in snowy Landover, Maryland.

A gold medal

Former Convent of Mercy Alpha athlete, Claudia Calder, was the most successful Jamaican at the meet as she ended the championships with a gold and a bronze medal. After a joint third-place finish in the high jump on the first day with a leap of 1.65 metres, the Hampton University sophomore returned on the final day to capture the women's pentathlon event with 3,449 points. Her teammate, former G.C. Foster College sprinter, Petrice Richards ended the meet with two bronze medals after clocking 7.50 seconds in the 60 metres and 24.89 seconds in the 200 metres.

Former G.C. Foster College quarter-miler Allodin Fothergill was able to finish with a medal in his pet event - the 400 metres. Competing for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, clocking 48.12 seconds in the men's 400 metre hurdles for second place.