May 27, 2006
Friday's Complete Results in PDF Format
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Saturday's Heat Sheet in PDF Format
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GREENSBORO, N.C. - George Mason advanced to the finals in three events on the first day of action at the NCAA East Regional Championships, held at Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro, N.C. on Friday. Freshman Murielle Ahoure reached the finals in both the 100- and 200-meter dash, while senior Richard Phillips advanced to the finals in the 110-meter hurdles.
The top five finishers in the finals of each event will automatically advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, held in Sacramento, Calif. on June 7-10, with the next seven finishers in each event all placed on the at-large list. Those who make the National Championships from the at-large list will be determined based on their top performance during the season.
Ahoure qualified for the finals in two events in her first appearance at the NCAA East Regional Championships. In the 100-meter dash, she recorded a new personal record with a time of 11.42 seconds, eclipsing her old mark of 11.49 seconds, finishing second in her heat to a record-setting performance by South Carolina sophomore Shalonda Solomon. Solomon, who entered the meet as the top seed in the region, broke the East Regional record of 11.16 seconds set in 2004 by Miami's Lauryn Williams with the fastest time in the preliminary rounds, 11.15 seconds. Joining Ahoure and Solomon in tomorrow's finals, scheduled for 6:20 p.m., are South Carolina's Amberly Nesbitt, UNC-Charlotte's Shareese Woods, Georgia Tech's Andriane Lapsley, Florida State's Cynthia Niako, UNC-Charlotte's Courtney Patterson and Florida's Lakecia Ealey.
In the 200-meter dash, Ahoure finished second in her heat to Nesbitt with a time of 23.71 seconds. The time was the seventh-fastest during the preliminary rounds, qualifying her for tomorrow's finals at 7:20 p.m. In addition to Ahoure, seven other athletes advanced to the finals, including Solomon, Niako, Woods, Miami's Charlette Greggs, Nesbitt, Lapsley and Pittsburgh's Shantea Calhoun.
In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Phillips kicked it into second gear down the stretch to blow away the competition in heat three, finishing in 13.77 seconds, a full .21 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Winthrop's Kandrick Cooper. Phillips will compete in the finals of the event tomorrow at 5:50 p.m. Also advancing to tomorrow's finals are South Carolina's Jason Richardson, Maryland's Dominic Berger, Savannah State's Eric Keddo, Howard's Jacoby DuBose, Pittsburgh's Mike Wray, Hampton's Terry Thornton and East Carolina's Hector Cotto. Richardson, the top overall seed in the East Region heading into the meet, had the fastest overall time during the preliminary heats with a time of 13.43 seconds. Phillips' time was the fourth-best mark on the day, trailing Richardson, Berger (13.68 seconds) and Keddo (13.75 seconds). Phillips also ran in the 200-meter dash, but didn't qualify for the finals in the event. His time of 21.20 seconds placed him third in his heat and 12th overall in the preliminary rounds.
Senior Sammy Sesay finished in fifth place in heat three of the 100-meter dash, finishing in 10.63 seconds. Sesay's time ranked 15th overall in the preliminary rounds. The eight athletes that advanced to tomorrow's 6:30 p.m. final were Clemson's Travis Padgett, who tied Walter Dix's 2005 East Regional record with a time of 10.06 seconds, Dix, South Carolina's Leroy Dixon, Florida A&M's Chris Hargrett, Florida's Willie Perry, Savannah State's Rondrick Parker, Florida State's Greg Bolden and UNC-Charlotte's Benjamin McCallum.
The women's 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Ryann Hendricks, freshman Murielle Ahoure, junior Melissa Kryfka and freshman Brittanie Williams finished in sixth place in their heat, running a time of 48.68 seconds. The team's time suffered slightly when Kryfka pulled up with a hamstring injury right before handing the baton to Williams. Junior Amy Seward, Greggs, senior Dominique Darden and senior India Ransom of Miami placed first in the heat, recording a time of 44.03 seconds to finish with the second-fastest overall time in the preliminary rounds. Georgia Tech's team of sophomore Shantia Moss, junior Ashlee Kidd, Lapsley and freshman Jaqua Williams ran the fastest time during the preliminary heats, finishing in 44.02 seconds. In addition to Georgia Tech and Miami, six other teams qualified for tomorrow's finals, including South Carolina, Florida, UNC-Charlotte, Hampton, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Pittsburgh.
The NCAA East Regional Championships continue tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the men's javelin and women's hammer throw. George Mason is scheduled to compete in five events tomorrow - the men's triple jump at noon, the men's high jump at 5 p.m., the men's 110-meter hurdles finals at 5:50 p.m., the women's 100-meter dash finals at 6:20 p.m. and the women's 200-meter dash finals at 7:20 p.m.
