June 9, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Chaunte Howard’s quest for her fourth consecutive NCAA high jump national title began on Thursday night with a qualifying clear of 5 feet, 10 ¾ inches, on her first attempt, after passing on the first three progressions, to lead Georgia Tech at the Outdoor NCAA Track & Field Championships.
Howard, a native of Riverside, Calif., hold’s the U.S. top mark at 6 feet, 4 ¾ inches, this year and is currently ranked No. 17 in the latest IAAF World Rankings. Her mark of 1.98 meters is No. 3 in the World in 2005.
Junior Andriane Lapsley clocked a time of 23.96 in the preliminaries of the 200-meter dash to finish in 23rd place. The top three from each of the four heats, plus the next six best times, advanced to the semifinals of the 200. Lapsley, a native of San Antonio, Texas, finished fourth in her heat.
Brandy Depland and Ashlee Kidd will be in action for the Yellow Jackets on Friday night. Depland, a junior from Katy, Texas, will compete in the qualifying round of the triple jump at 10:30 p.m. ET. Kidd, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla., qualified for the semifinals of the 400 meters on Wednesday night with a time of 52.98 and will try to advance to the finals at 10:40 p.m. ET.
The outdoor NCAA Championships will continue on Friday and action can be followed at www.NCAASPORTS.com.
-GT TRACK & FIELD-
