May 30, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sophomore Steve Marcelle finished third in the men’s shot put to lead the Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track & field teams on the first day of the NCAA East Region Championships at the Mike Long Track on the Florida State University campus.
Marcelle placed third in the men’s shot put with a mark of 61 feet to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships field in Des Moines, Iowa. Junior teammate Andy Powlen finished fourth with a personal-best mark of 60 feet, 8 ½ inches to also qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Senior Shantia Moss finished first in her heat and had the third-best time overall (13.07) in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Moss will compete in the final at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, junior Mario Johnson placed 15th in the prelims with a time of 52.07.
Junior Jacqua Williams placed fifth in the women’s 200-meter dash prelims with a time of 23.79 to qualify for the final. The 200m final will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday. Williams finished 13th in the 100-meter dash prelim with a time of 11.76.
Senior Jenny Sims earned a spot in Saturday’s 1500-meter final after crossing the line with a personal-best time of 4:23.99 in the prelims. Sims will try and qualify for the NCAA Championships Saturday at 4:20 p.m. Junior E. C. Gibbs crossed the line 23rd in the men’s 1500m prelim with a time of 3:53.22.
In the women’s pole vault, freshman Joanna Wright cleared a height of 12 feet in her first NCAA regional to place 14th.
Senior James Lemons II finished 10th in the long jump with a best mark of 23 feet, 9 ½ inches.
The women’s 4×100-meter relay team of Shantia Moss, Jenae Anderson, Taylor Davidson and Leslie Njoku finished 14th in the prelims with a time of 45.52.
The Jackets will continue competition Saturday with the women’s hammer throw at 1 p.m. Running events will get underway at 4 p.m. with the women’s 4x100m relay final.
– RamblinWreck.com –
