March 14, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Junior sprinter Murielle Ahoure finished with the 17th-fastest time in the preliminary heats of the 60-meter dash on Friday evening at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. for the ninth consecutive season. Running against five other competitors in the second of three heats, Ahoure sprinted past the finish line in 7.42 seconds.

Junior Alexandria Anderson of Texas won the heat with a time of 7.19 seconds to qualify for the finals of the event. Along with Anderson, seven other athletes qualified for tomorrow's finals, including Texas freshman Bianca Knight (7.16), LSU senior Kelly-Ann Baptiste (7.19), Tulane senior Gloria Asumnu (7.22), Kansas senior Nickesha Anderson (7.23), LSU sophomore Samantha Henry (7.25), Florida senior Lakecia Ealey (7.25) and Tennessee senior Courtney Champion (7.26). The eight competitors will hit the track at 8:25 p.m. ET to determine the national champion.

Ahoure, an All-American in the 60-meter dash during last year's indoor season, had another excellent indoor season in 2008, qualifying for the National Championships for the second consecutive year while recording a personal record of 7.32 seconds in the event at the Patriot Games on Jan. 26 at the Fieldhouse. At last week's ECAC Indoor Championships in Boston, Mass., Ahoure captured the 60-meter dash title for the third time in her career and the 200-meter dash title for the second time on her way to being named the Most Outstanding Performer of the meet for the second straight year.

After the 2008 indoor track and field season concludes tomorrow with the second and final day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Ahoure and the rest of the George Mason women's track and field team will begin preparations for the start of the 2008 outdoor track and field season. The first meet the women will compete at is the Hurricane Invitational, scheduled for March 20-22 at the Cobb Track and Field Facility on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Fla.