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 Matt DiBuono, Fordham |
June 3, 2009
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Seven student-athletes from the Atlantic 10 will compete against the nation's best at the 88th Annual NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Ark. Those who have qualified include Charlotte's Lamarra Currie (100m, 200m), Aja Jackson (800m), Pat Springs (long jump) and Darius Law (400m); Nicol Traynor of Richmond (5,000m); Fordham's Matt DiBuono (hammer throw); and Jasmine Jennings of Rhode Island (hammer throw).
Traynor, who ran the 5,000m last weekend at the NCAA East Regional Championship in Greensboro, N.C., earned one of the at-large spots thanks to her school-record time of 16:17.64 that she posted at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. That time has her ranked 23rd in the 27-runner event.
DiBuono qualified with the 15th-best hammer throw in the NCAA Division I this year, a school-record toss of 65.34m (214-4) at the IC4A Championships on May 16th. Last weekend, DiBuono competed in the hammer throw at the NCAA East Regional and placed seventh overall with a top toss of 62.33m (204-5 1/2).
Jennings registered a throw of 193-09 (59.05m) to earn runner-up status at the NCAA East Regionals Championship. It marks the second consecutive year that Jennings earned a spot in the field for the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships.
Springs turned in a jump of 20-9 to qualify for the finals in the long jump event. The mark for Springs would place her in fifth after the final set of jumps as Springs advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second time in her career. Her 20-9 leap set a new season-best for the Winston-Salem, N.C., native.
Currie placed second in the 100m dash (11.64) and added a fourth-place finish in the 200 meter dash. Currie's time of 23.99 was good enough to qualify the Apex, N.C., resident for the NCAA Championships in her second event. With the pair of NCAA qualifying performances, Currie became the first Charlotte runner since former All-American Shareese Woods to qualify for the NCAA's in two individual events, with Woods accomplishing the feat in 2007.
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Law turned in an incredible performance in the 400m dash, taking down his own school record by nearly three-tenths of a second with a time of 45.77 seconds. His finish in the event was good for fifth place.
In the 800 meter run, senior Aja Jackson would finish fifth in a time of 2:07.65. Jackson's time qualifies her for NCAA's for the second time in her career.
