Greggs, 4x400-Meter Relay Advance At NCAA Championships
June 12, 2003
Sacramento, CA (hurricanesports.com) – Freshman Charlette Greggs (Miami Northwestern) advanced to the semifinals of the 400-meters and the 4×400-meter relay qualified for Saturday’s final to highlight Thursday’s action at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, CA.
Greggs, seeded fourth heading into the NCAA Championships, won her preliminary heat of the 400-meters in a time of 51.85 seconds, the second fastest time of the opening round. Greggs jumped out early and cruised to her 10th straight victory. The freshman has yet to lose a race this outdoor season versus collegiate competition.
The 4×400-meter relay of senior Sashanie Simpson (Miami, FL), senior Jamillah Wade (Philadelphia, PA), junior Kitoya Carter (Miami Northwestern) and freshman Dominique Darden (Harrisburg, PA) won their heat in a time 3:33.28 to advance to the NCAA final for the second consecutive season.
Simpson and Wade both came back to run outstanding legs of the relay despite difficult races earlier in the day.
Simpson, who during the morning session failed to qualify for the semifinals of the 400-meters, ran a 53.9 split to give UM a lead they would never relinquish. Wade, who missed qualifying for the final of the 400-meter hurdles despite posting a time of 58.19 in her semifinal heat, then extended the lead running the second leg of the relay in 52.9 to give the Hurricanes an insurmountable advantage over second-place finisher Arizona State.
Carter ran the third leg in 53.2, while Darden posted a split of 53.4 to complete the Miami victory. The Hurricanes’ winning time was the third fastest of the preliminaries.
Carter also competed in the triple jump where she finished eighth in her preliminary flight with a mark of 12.34 meters (40-06.00). Carter was only able to record one jump in the triple jump competition due to a conflict with the 4×400-meter relay, both were scheduled at the same time, and was unable to advance.
In the 800-meters senior Patricia Pearson (Jacksonville, FL) finished eighth in her semifinal heat in a time of 2:06.47 and did not advance to Saturday’s final, while senior Sharianne Lawson (Palm Beach Lakes) finished seventh in her semifinal heat of the 100-meter hurdles (13.45) and did not advance.
Juniors Adrienne Moss (Miami Southridge) and Jennifer Penrose (Mesa, AZ), the first UM throwers to ever qualify for the NCAA Championships, both competed in the preliminary round of the shot put. Penrose finished 26th with a toss of 14.33 meters (47-00.25) while Moss fouled on all three of her attempts.
