May 1, 2009
Call T&F Contact Michael Stambaugh for more details - 386.481.2278 -
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman Track & Field competed in their first day of events on Day Two of the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Friday, on the campus of North Carolina A&T University. While the Wildcats had some bright spots in select field event finals in Friday's events, they did not register many scored team points at this time. The important thing to consider, however, is not what they haven't gotten, but what B-CU did earn. B-CU qualified 18 athletes (8 men, 10 women) for event finals in Saturday's meet, setting up for a scoring spree in the final day of competition.
Topping the event performers for B-CU on Friday was Rockel Mitchell, who finished first in the Women's Long Jump Finals, recording a distance of 5.99m (19-08.00 ft.) to snag the gold. Along with Mitchell's performance, the Wildcats sent 18 athletes to the finals, and qualified nine Wildcats for the NCAA Regional Meet.
In Friday's events, several Wildcat men performed well, including several preliminary-topping races. Joel Redhead started it off, snagging the men's first top performance, leading the preliminaries in the 200m Dash with an NCAA Regional-Qualifier time of 10.34. Also making the finals in the 200m and qualifying for the NCAA's, Dante Sales finished seventh in 21.08.
B-CU did well in the hurdling events, topping both fields. Ronnie Ash topped all hurdlers in the 110m Hurdles, finishing in 13.72, while DJ Howard also qualified for the finals, finishing fifth at 14.15. Eric Cray topped the preliminaries in the 400m Hurdles, earning an NCAA Regional qualification with his finish in 52.41.
Dante Sales finished second in the 100m Dash preliminaries, coming in with a time of 10.34. Although not headed to the finals narrowly, Chris Herring performed well, finishing ninth in a time of 10.68.
In the 400m Dash preliminaries, Joel Redhead finished third in the field, coming in with an NCAA Qualifier time of 46.92.
B-CU's last qualifier for Saturday's finals was William Cosby, who finished eighth in the 800m Run preliminaries in a time of 1:53.63.
Most of Friday's final events were field events, and the Wildcat men had several top performers, but none that reached the scoring level. Craig Johnson finished eighth in the Discus Throw, tossing a distance of 38.98m (127-11 ft.). Nicholas Kenson came in eighth in the Long Jump with a distance of 7.07m (23-02.50 ft.). In the High Jump, DJ Howard finished tenth at 1.85m (6-00.75 ft.).
For the Wildcat women, it was a strong day in both qualifying and field event performances. Dianne Munroe started off the qualifications, topping the field in the 100m Dash preliminaries in a time of 11.47 seconds. Jessica Tongue also qualified for the finals, finishing fifth in 11.67.
Tavia Burke finished third in the 100m Hurdles, with an NCAA Regional-Qualifier time of 13.67. Crystal Bardge also qualified for the finals and NCAA Regional with a time of 13.85.
In the 200m Dash preliminaries, Dianne Munroe qualified for the NCAA Regional and event finals with a time of 23.92 seconds.
Crystal Bardge also made another final qualification, coming in fifth in the 400m Hurdles preliminaries in a time of 1:02.18.
Alexandria Condell made it to the 800m Run finals, coming in fifth with a time of 2:12.92.
As for event finals on Friday, outside of Mitchell, B-CU performed well. In the Shot Put, Ron Danielle Williams finished third with a distance of 14.76m (48-05.25 ft.), which qualifies her for the NCAA Regional.
The Wildcat women finished the day in 6th place with 16 points, but several athletes advancing to keep them in the hunt. The men have only 2 points at this time and are in ninth, but have several top qualifiers with a shot to win their respective events.
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