GREENSBORO, N.C. (May 29, 2009) Senior Mark Steeds qualified for the NCAA Division I National Championships with a fifth place finish in the 5000m, leading the Georgia State track and field team on the first day of competition at the NCAA East Regionals hosted by North Carolina A&T State University.
For the 10th time in 14 years, a Georgia State distance runner has qualified for an NCAA National Championship event. With a time of 14:18.66, Steeds earned his return berth in the NCAA National Track
Championship, eyeing to better last year’s 12th place finish and earn All-America as a top 8 finisher. The senior from Paris, Ontario, Canada finished 1.11 seconds behind Florida State’s Matt Leeder and 2.04
seconds ahead of Harvard’s Dan Chenoweth to secure fifth place and the final spot to qualify for the trip to the NCAA National Championship held in Fayetteville, Arkansas on June 10-13.
On the women’s side, Tamika Kinchen advanced to the 800m finals on Friday with a time of 2:09.41 to place second in her heat and eighth overall. In Saturday’s finals, Kinchen ran a 2:08.62 for seventh place.
The Panthers also competed in the prelims of the 4x100m relay, 100m, 800m and 400m hurdles, needing either a top finish in their respective heat our a top-four time (top-three for the 100m) to advance to the
finals.
The 4x100m quartet of Nicole Davis, Kendra Davis, Jasmine Johnson and Bianca Tyson placed fifth in their heat and 15th overall with a time of 45.84 while Kendra Davis missed the qualifying mark in the 100m,
finishing 23rd overall (5th in her heat, 11.87). Jasmine Johnson’s 1:05.10 time in the 400m hurdles placed her sixth in her heat and eighth overall.
The 4x400m Relay team ended the day on Saturday, taking the track at 8:05 p.m. The team, composed of Bianca Tyson, Tamika Kinchen, Latorya Dopson and Kendra Davis, who won the CAA title with a 3:44.90 finish and qualified for Regionals at the Penn Relays where they ran a season-best 3:41.60 and finished in sixth overall, finished in 16th place with a time of 3:43.54.
Janel Blancett also competed for the Panthers, running in the 5000m event. Blancett finished with a time of 17:06.28 for 28th place.
Loading ...
