Hurricanes Receive Three At-Large Bids to NCAA Championships
June 4, 2008
CORAL GABLES – The 14th-ranked <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Miami women’s track and field team received three at-large selections on Tuesday and will now send 10 women to compete in four individual events and two relays at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 11-14, in Des Moines, Iowa.
The U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association weekly national rankings were announced and the Hurricanes saw a jump of 10 spots this week. After an impressive showing at the NCAA East Regional Miami leapt to No.14 after they were ranked 24th a week ago.
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Receiving at-large selections on Tuesday were senior Khadija Talley in the discus and both the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams.
Miami is coming off a sixth-place finish at the NCAA East Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., where four Hurricanes picked up automatic bids for the national championships.
Talley, automatically qualified in the shot put with her second-place finish at the regional. Her mark of 17.02m set a new career-high and currently holds as the ninth-best distance in the nation. The senior from Columbus, Ga. failed to earn an automatic bid in her best event, the discus. However, her school-record breaking toss of 57.10m during the Miami Elite Invitational, earned her a No. 3 national ranking and an at-large bid.
Junior Viktoria Andonova had hit the 1.75m mark seven consecutive times coming into the East Regional, where she took second-place with her season-best height of 1.81m in the high jump. Andonova heads into the national championships as the 16th-ranked high jumper in the nation.
The 4×100 relay team of freshmen Tara Thomas and Takecia Jameson, sophomore Kristy Whyte and four-time All-American Krista Simkins, will take their season-best time of 44.57 and their No. 14 national ranking to Des Moines as an at-large selection after finishing seventh in the regional.
All-American Ena Lefroy anchors the 4×400 relay team that received an at-large bid, after a fifth place finish at the East Regional, where the team ran their season-best time of 3:33.44. Whyte will run on her second relay with Tameka and Takecia Jameson completing the 13th-ranked team in the land.
Two of the four freshmen that are in the 28-woman field for the 400-meter hurdles are Ti’erra Brown and Takecia Jameson. Jameson is currently ranked fourth nationally with her second place finish at the regional with a season-best time of 56.60. Brown’s career-best time came at the ACC Championships where she took silver with the fifth-best national time of 56.72.
Also coming out on Tuesday, the USTFCCCA released the All-Region Teams. To be considered All-Region the student-athlete must place in the top eight of her respective event. Below is the list of Hurrincanes that earned All-Region honors.
Student-Athlete Event Time/Mark Place
Krista Simkins 400-meters dash 55.29 8th
Takecia Jameson 400-meter hurdles 56.60 2nd
Ti’erra Brown 400-meter hurdles 56.98 3rd
Thomas, Whyte, 4×100 relay 45.11 7th
Fuller, Simkins
Whyte, Jameson, 4×400 relay 3:33.44 5th
Jameson, Leufroy
Viktoria Andonova High jump 1.81m 2nd
Khadija Talley Shot put 17.02m 2nd
