May 31, 2009

Florida State Women Crowned 2009 East Regional Champions; Men Finish Fourth
The Florida State track and field teams (Men-No. 5/Women-No. 3) closed out the last day of the 2009 NCAA East Regional Championship nationally qualifying a two-day total of 14 Seminoles for next month's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. In addition to qualifying several athletes, Kim Williams highlighted the day with an excellent triple jump that reset several records and bettered her mark that sat as FSU's best performance in program history to help the women earn the regional crown with 71 points. The FSU men earned fourth place with 51 points.

Earning the second ticket to nationals for the women was the 4x100m relay squad of Nicole Marcus, Candyce McGrone, Danielle Jeffrey and Teona Rodgers. The foursome started off the relay in third place, but when the baton was handed to Rodgers, the anchor leg, the sophomore quickly changed the pace as she battled against South Carolina for first place and came out successful with a first-place finish time of 43.64.

On the men's front, the brother twosome of Kevin and Jonathan Borlee (Brussels, Belgium) hit the ground running in the men's 400m dash. In their first regional meet, the duo nationally qualified with their third and fourth place finishes as K. Borlee was the first Seminole to cross at 45.54 and J. Borlee quickly followed in 45.58. 

Ford Claims 100m Dash, Tigers Capture 4x100m Relay Saturday at NCAA East Regional
Jacoby Ford won the 100m dash and anchored the victorious 4x100m relay for Clemson on Saturday at the NCAA East Region Track & Field Championships at the Irwin Belk Track Facility. Ford will be making his second straight trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100m, while the 4x1 will be competing at nationals for the third time in the last four years. The NCAA national meet is scheduled for June 10-13 in Fayetteville, AR.

Ford captured his first-ever individual East Region championship in the 100m dash, the third crown in the last four years for the Tiger program (Travis Padgett won in 2006 & 2008). Ford got a great start out of the blocks, and then breezed to a personal best time of 10.04 seconds. His time ranks second-best in the nation heading into the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The men's 4x100m relay erased the memories of last season's disqualification by winning with a facility and school-record time of 38.78. The school's previous best had been 38.82 by the team of Airese Currie, Otto Spain, Jacey Harper, and Dwight Thomas in 2002. Clemson was runner-up in the event at the East Region Championships in both 2006 and 2007, before the exchange violation last year in Tallahassee. 

Tech Men Post Highest-Ever Finish At NCAA East Region Championships
The Georgia Tech men's track & field team posted its highest-ever finish at an NCAA Regional with a fifth-place performance Saturday on the final day of competition at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T. Women place 18th.

The men's squad amassed a total of 41 points on the weekend while the women picked up 12 in their stance.

Highlighting the day's dramatics was the incredible performance by Junior Alphonso Jordan, who broke a 20-year old Tech outdoor record in the triple jump. The Charlotte, N.C. native placed first in the event with the record mark of 53'9.25" while qualifying for his third-straight NCAA Outdoor Championships. The previous Tech record mark of 53'7.25" was set by Rich Thompson in 1989. 

Murielle Ahoure Breaks Own 100m Regional Record on Way to Nationals
The 19th-ranked University of Miami women's track and field team -led by another record-breaking performance from Murielle Ahoure - sent six student-athletes in four events to the NCAA Championships on the second and final day of the NCAA East Regional at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T.

For the second straight day, Ahoure broke the East Regional and track records in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.09 seconds. The time for Ahoure, into the wind, also beats her personal record that she set yesterday (11.14) in the preliminary round and puts in her in second place all-time at Miami in the event. Former Hurricane great Lauryn Williams still holds the school record at 10.97 seconds.

Ahoure finds herself with the No. 2 collegiate ranking in the 100-meters heading into the NCAA Championships, behind only Texas' Alexandria Anderson (11.05). The duo of Ahoure and Kristy Whyte finished 1-2 in the 200-meter dash. Ahoure, the senior out of Bristow, Va. crossed the line at 23.09 seconds and Whyte finished at 23.53. Both women will represent the Hurricanes in the 200-meters in Fayetteville, Ark. 

Sixteen Will Go To NCAA National Championship
By the end of competition at the NCAA East Regional on Saturday, 16 Tar Heels had earned the chance to compete for national titles in 10 events. Most impressively, the majority of the athletes who qualified are underclassmen. From the perspective of points, the women's track and field team earned 25.50 and the men earned 11.

Dominique Jackson, a sophomore, scored the highest points for UNC at the East Regional, recording eight for her second-place finish in the women's 800-meter run. Jackson's time of 2:07.06 gives her good standing in the event at the national championship.

Gabby Gioia, a sophomore, threw 44.69 meters in the women's javelin, which earns her a shot at the NCAA National Championships. Gioia's throw also earned the Tar Heels one point for the regional. 

Ayeni Wins First-Ever Regional Title in Discus
Senior Yemi Ayeni won his first-ever discus title at the NCAA East Region Championships on Saturday, while the Virginia track and field team saw five more Cavaliers punch tickets to the 2009 NCAA Championships during the day's competition. Senior Andrew Jesien, juniors Meghan Briggs, Steve Finley and Stephanie Garcia and freshman Lance Roller each automatically qualified for NCAAs in their respective events, joining seniors Billie-Jo Grant and Caitlin Kelly - who advanced yesterday.

Ayeni, a two-time All-American, earned the men's program its first-ever individual title at the regional championships, winning the discus with a throw of 58' 05", advancing him to NCAAs for the third-consecutive season.

In other field events, Briggs used a fifth-place finish in the javelin, throwing 162' 5", to automatically advance to her second-consecutive NCAA Championships. 

Loughlin Joins Duke Contingent At NCAA Championships
Duke senior Patricia Loughlin tonight became the third Duke athlete to qualify for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, as she notched the necessary top-five finish to an automatic bid in the steeplechase during day two of the NCAA East Regional.

Loughlin ran to second place in the 3000m race, clocking 10:10.61 - her second-fastest run of the season. That mark also broke the old facility record in the event at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T University.

In other Regionals action, sophomore Cory Nanni finished seventh in the finals of the men's 1500m in a lifetime best 3:43.09, moving him into fourth all-time at Duke in the event and breaking the facility record at NC A&T. By earning a top-12 finish, Nanni still has a chance to qualify for nationals, as the 6th-12th place finishers in each event at the regional meets will be pooled to fill the remaining spots. 

Henry Advances to NCAA Championships
Shot put school record holder Lawanda Henry advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing third at the NCAA Outdoor Regionals in the shot put.

Henry's mark of 52'08.75" was the second-best of the season for the redshirt freshman who holds four school records already in her young career.

Angelina Blackmon was ninth in the 800m and will look to qualify to the NCAA Championships when selections are finalized on Monday. 

Fedrick Earns Berth at NCAA Nationals
University of Maryland senior Michelle Fedrick earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with her fifth-place finish Saturday in the women's 400-meter dash at the NCAA East Regionals.

Fedrick ran 53.36 seconds to earn the fifth and final automatic-qualifying spot for the nationals. It was her second-fastest mark of the season and will send her to Fayetteville, Ark., from June 10 to 13. Francena McCorory of Hampton won the 400 in 52.00 seconds.

Fedrick's individual finish earned four team points for the Terrapins. Maryland tied for 38th place among the 55 scoring teams on the women's side. 

Lomnicky leads Hokies at the NCAA East Regional
The Virginia Tech track and field squad concluded the final day of action at the NCAA East Regional on the Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro, N.C., on Saturday. The Hokies claimed one individual title at the event and posted a third place showing in the pole vault. Tech scored 25.50 in men's action, while the women scored 42 points.

Freshman Marcel Lomnicky posted the individual win for Tech on the Saturday after throwing a 232-05 in the hammer throw. Lomnicky, a native of Nitra, Slovakia, capped off a stellar showing on the day and posted 10 points for the Hokies.

Meanwhile, Sophomore Hunter Hall scored a third place finish in pole vault action. The sophomore tallied six team points with his 5.16m showing in the finals.

Bingham and Vaughn Punch Tickets To NCAA Track Championships
Senior Michael Bingham and junior Caroline Vaughn each set school-records and punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships Saturday evening at the NC A&T's Irwin Belk Track on the final day of the 2009 NCAA East Regionals.

Bingham came into the final with the fourth-best qualifying time after cruising through his heat of the prelims Friday night. He got to the track Saturday and was battling a case of food poisoning but turned in a gutsy school-record time of 45.05.

After being called out of the blocks twice, the 400-meter race got underway and Bingham got out to a fast start. Starting in lane three, he made up most of the stagger down the back stretch and grabbed the lead as the field made the final turn. 

Breagy, Gawrych Compete at NCAA Regional
The Boston College women's track team had two representatives in day one of the NCAA East Regional on Friday at North Carolina A&T's Irwin Belk Track.

Sophomore Siobhan Breagy and junior Samantha Gawrych both competed in the 1500m run. Breagy finished 18th in the prelims of the event with a time of 4:28.78 while Gawrych was right behind her in 20th place. She crossed the finish line in 4:30.36.

Ritchie Runs In 5000m at NCAA Regional
Senior Timothy Ritchie represented the Boston College men's track team in day one of the NCAA East Regional on Friday at North Carolina A&T's Irwin Belk Track.

The senior competed in the finals of the 5000m run and finished in 12th place with a time of 14:02.59. It is the fourth-fastest time in Boston College history.