WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard University men's and women's cross-country teams will compete in the 2022 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships on Saturday at the Delaware State Outreach & Research Center in Smyrna, Del.
 
The championships will begin with the men's 8K race at 11 a.m., with the women's 5K race following at Noon. The top 15 runners from each race will be named All-MEAC.
 
Both programs finished second overall at last year's MEAC Championships.
 
The Howard men return three All-MEAC performers from last year led by senior Ayoade Adebiyi, who was fifth overall a year ago. Tafari Stephenson and Julian Lawson also earned All-MEAC recognition after finishing 11th and 14th, respectively.
 
On the women's side, Howard returns All-MEAC athletes Joslyn Crosby, Camille Egbula, Breanna McDonald, and Dasia Wilson. Crosby was third overall and Egbula was fourth.
 
For the men, this will be their first race since Sept. 29 when it competed in the Paul Short Invitational.
 
Adebiyi has been the Bison's top performer this fall. Adebiyi finished fifth overall in the season-opening Mount 5K Duals with a new school benchmark (15:56.40), shattering his own record by 17 seconds. Howard finished third as a team in that race, its best of the fall.
 
Two weeks later as Howard finished ninth at the Navy Invitational, Adebiyi was the top finisher for HU, clocking in at 26:08.40. He was also the top finisher for Howard at the Paul Short Invitational posting a 25:18.80 in the 8K, which was the second-fastest time in school history.
 
Meanwhile in the same race, sophomore Julian Lawson was the second Bison to cross the finish line, registering a 26:24.30 mark.
 
"We have the deepest team in the conference and if we run our race, we will be in position to take the MEAC crown," Head Cross Country Coach Wesley Stephens said. "Ayoade Adebiyi will compete for the individual crown as well as go for the 8000m school record (he set the 5K record at our first meet). Julian Lawson is primed for a big performance after setting personal bests at 8K in each of his races this year."
 
On the women's side, Howard won the Mount 5K Duals behind fifth-year senior Melanie White, who led the Bison with a winning time of 19:13. In the same race, McDonald and newcomer Jordyn Miller placed in the top 10, earning fourth (19:43) and seventh (20:11), respectively. Crosby and Egbula rounded out the Bison, finishing 15^th and 17^th, respectively.
 
The Howard women also finished ninth at the Navy Invitational.
 
"The Lady Bison have a very strong chance of bringing home their first MEAC Cross Championship since 2005," Stephens said. "The deep and talented line-up has six women who earned All-MEAC honors in cross country or track last year. Look for Seniors Melanie White and Breanna McDonald to lead the charge, but don't be surprised to see a strong performance from sophomore Joslyn Crosby."
 
On Saturday morning, the MEAC will team up with Delaware State to recognize breast cancer survivors. The festivities will begin at 10 a.m.
 
The 2022 MEAC Cross Country Championships are free and open to the public. The Delaware State Outreach & Research Center is located at 884 Smyrna Leipsic Rd., Smyrna, DE, 19977.