Williams Leads UM At NCAA East Regionals
May 28, 2004
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Miami junior All-American Lauryn Williams (Rochester, Pa.) recorded the fastest time of the 100-meter preliminaries and ran the second leg of the 4×100-meter relay that also recorded the top time of the preliminaries to lead the 10th-ranked women’s track and field team at opening day of the 2004 NCAA East Regional Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
Williams, who has the fastest time in the world this season in the 100-meters (11.01) and currently ranks No. 1 in the NCAA, cruised to an easy win in the preliminaries with a time of 11.24 seconds.
“I thought the race went pretty smooth today,” said Williams after the race. “I didn’t get out of the blocks as well as would have liked but 11.24 is still a pretty good time. I plan on running a much faster race tomorrow.”
Also qualifying for the 100-meter final was sophomore India Ransom (Largo, Md.). Ransom finished second in her heat with a season-best time of 11.57 seconds. The top-5 individual finishers in each final automatically qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 9-12, in Austin, Texas.
Ransom and Williams were also members of the 4×100-meter relay that qualified for Saturday’s final. The 4×100-meter relay of junior Chinela Davis (Haverstraw, N.Y.), Williams, sophomore Dominique Darden (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Ransom (Largo, Md.) won its preliminary heat with a time of 44.29 seconds.
The relay, which ranks fifth in the nation and second in the East Region, posted the fastest time of the qualifying round. The top-three finishers in Saturday’s 4×100-meter final will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
In addition to running the third leg of the 4×100-meter relay, Darden won her preliminary heat of the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.32 seconds to advance to the final. Darden, who had not competed in the event until this season, moves on with the fourth best time of the prelims.
In the 400-meters sophomore All-American Charlette Greggs (Miami Northwestern) and freshman Ginou Etienne (Miami Central) both won their preliminary heats to advance to the final on Saturday.
Etienne posted the second fastest time of prelims with a career-best mark of 52.35 seconds, while Greggs, the defending NCAA East Regional Champion, won her heat in a time of 52.73 seconds.
Freshmen Tabia Charles (Pickering, Ontario) placed eighth in the long jump with a mark of 6.23 meters (20-05.25). Charles, who earned All-America honors in the long jump during the indoor season, will be one of four Hurricane jumpers competing in the triple jump final on Saturday.
