UMES' Lenora Guion-Firmin and Vanessa Henry Advance to NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Finals
DES MOINES, Iowa- Lenora Guion-Firmin ran a 52.23-second time in the 400- meter dash Wednesday, qualifying her for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Finals on Friday. Maryland Eastern Shore had six student-athletes qualify for the national competition including Guion-Firmin.
Guion-Firmin will race from lane one Friday, and compete against student-athletes from Mississippi State, Arkansas, Kansas, Oregon, Illinois, Louisiana State and Clemson. She finished third in her heat, and with one of the best eight times to advance to Friday's competition.
Guion-Firmin punched her ticket to the NCAA Finals following a strong showing in the preliminary round in Jacksonville, Florida May 26-29. She will be the only runner from UMES to race in the finals. Guion-Firmin will take her mark at 7:02 PM (CST) on Friday.
Teammate Vanessa Henry will compete in the shot put finals Friday at 5:00PM (CST). Henry advanced following her finish in the preliminary rounds. Given her distance and place in the shot put qualified her for the finals round.
The Hawks' Andre Walsh finished fifth in his heat of the 400-meter hurdles. Walsh ran a 50.88-second time. He joined Rico Taylor, Ackeem Smith and Marcus Wallace to finish with a time of 40.18 seconds in the 400-meter relay.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
CSU's Victorian Places Eighth in Heat at NCAA Outdoor Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Coppin State junior Jibri Victorian placed eighth in his heat, and 23rd overall, in the semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles on Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium.
Victorian, competing in the third heat, finished eighth in a time of 52.24. David Aristil of South Florida won the heat in 49.83, while Keyunta Hayes of Texas-San Antonio placed second in 49.95.
Victorian, who was seeded fourth entering the event, ended a string of three consecutive meets in which he had posted a personal record.
Amaechi Morton of Stanford posted the fastest qualifying time of 49.37. The top two finishers from each heat and the next two fastest times advanced to Friday's final.
It marked the second consecutive trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for Victorian who became just the second Coppin State athlete to earn back-to-back trips to the outdoor championships.
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Holmes Wraps Up DSU Career At NCAA Semifinals
DES MOINES, Iowa - Delaware State senior Donte' Holmes finished his career Wednesday evening as he finished 19th overall in the 800m run at the 2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at Drake Stadium's Jim Duncan Track on the campus of Drake University.
Despite starting the race strong, Holmes finished seventh in the first heat with a time of 1:49.42 and failed to qualify for Friday's Finals.
Iowa's Erik Sowinski placed first in Wednesday's 800m competition with a time of 1:46.09.
Holmes recorded a season-best time of 1:48.33 in the NCAA East Region Preliminary to qualify for Wednesday's race. His 800m career-best time of 1:48.11 came his sophomore year at the 2010 IC4A Championships.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com