March 18, 2003
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s track and field team concluded an impressive 2003 indoor season with a No. 22 national ranking in the Trackshark Women’s Top 25 Final Indoor Poll, which was released Monday.
The Jackets were one of only two Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the poll as conference champion North Carolina was ranked fifth.
Tech’s season was highlighted by eight performances that met the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships. Freshmen Chaunte Howard and Jessica Graff both competed at the national meet, with Howard earning 10th in the high jump and Graff finishing 16th in the pole vault. Howard garnered All-America honors with her finish.
Also posting provisional marks were: senior Jessica DeFreitas (60-meter dash, triple jump, long jump), Howard (triple jump), junior Amandi Rhett (60-meter dash), sophomore Dana Rogers (60-meter hurdles) and sophomore Shanta Smith (triple jump).
Despite not having the services of injured distance standouts Renee Metivier and Katie Griffin, who both redshirted the indoor season, Tech placed second at the ACC Championships. The Jackets had 110.5 points to North Carolina’s 129.5.
Tech set a school record with 10 all-conference honorees, led by ACC champions Howard (high jump), Smith (triple jump) and Rhett (60-meter dash). Howard was named the league’s Indoor Track and Field Rookie of the Year after earning all-conference honors in both the high jump and triple jump.
The Jackets also broke a pair of school records, as Graff cleared 13’2.50′ in the pole vault, and Smith leaped 42’8.75″ in the triple jump to eclipse her own school mark.
Tech opens in the outdoor season this weekend at the Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The ACC Outdoor Championships are slated for April 18-19 in Raleigh, N.C., while the NCAA Outdoor Championships are June 11-14 in Sacramento, Calif.
-GT-
