Men's Track & Field 1/19/2008 5:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

Lady Bears? Hines and Kendrick Top All Runners At Penn State Open

The Lady Bears of Morgan State just missed NCAA provisional qualifying marks in several events, during last weekend’s Penn State Open.

Freshman standout Tanisha Kendrick topped all runners in the 500 meter dash, establishing a new personal record. Her time of 1:14.53 qualified her for both the ECAC and MEAC championships and gave her the second fastest time in the conference in that event. Kendrick later teamed with running mates, Vivian McCollum, Adrianna Vargas, and April Mullen on the distance medley relay team that ran a qualifying time for the MEAC championships.

In the shorter races, the Lady Bears fared just as well, as sensational sophomore Ashley Hines topped all runners in the 200 meter dash. Hines scorched the track in a personal best time of 24.02 seconds, just missing the NCAA provisional standard of 23.90 seconds.

Hines and teammate Jacquay Evans took second and third place, respectively, in the 60 meter dash in a close race that ended in a photo finish. Evans, who took second in a time of 7.56, was followed closely by Hines (7.59). They both just missed the NCAA provisional standard of 7.44 seconds but qualified for the conference championships.

Also making a huge impact running her first race as a Lady Bear was freshman Ashley Adams in the 60 meter hurdles. Again she just missed the NCAA provisional time of 8.43 seconds in her race but finished second overall with a time of 8.59 seconds. Other qualifiers and top finishers were Leitawsha Bronson, who took second in the shot, RoKesha Williams in the 60 meter hurdles and Tendai Hill qualified in the 200 and the 400 meter dashes.

The Lady Bears will take a small group back to University Park, Pa., this weekend, January 24-25th for the highly competitive Penn State National meet.