April 24, 2009
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams had a pair of runner-up finishes and qualified two relays for finals on Friday in front of 39,501 fans during the second day of the Penn Relays.
Raevan Harris finished second in the women's high jump, clearing 1.83 meters (6-0). Harris was one miss by Nebraska's Epley Bullock away from winning the title, but Bullock, who trailed Harris with more misses up to that point, cleared 1.86 meters (6-1.25) on her last attempt to win the title.
The women's 4x100-meter relay team finished second in the championship final, clocking a time of 44.13 that trailed only Texas A&M. The team of junior Shaquela Williams, sophomores Joanna Atkins and Cache Armbrister and freshman Nivea Smith were just slightly off their season-best time of 43.74 seconds that ranks No. 4 in the nation.
Just over an hour after the 4x100-meter relay, three of the same women joined to post the second-best mark during the prelims of the 4x200-meter relay. Atkins and Armbrister ran the first two legs, followed by freshman CeCe Williams and Smith, as the Tiger squad clocked a time of 1:32.85 that ranks second best in school history.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of senior Jerod Wims, sophomores Michael DeHaven and Bernard Spivey and freshman Marcus Rowland finished 14th in the prelims, earning a spot in Saturday's college final. The Tigers clocked a time of 3:09.75, anchored by Rowland's split of 45.13.
DeHaven and Rowland also ran the last two legs of Auburn's 4x100-meter relay team that finished 18th in the prelims with a time of 41.01 seconds. Junior Milton Fox and sophomore Stephen Fly ran the first two legs for the Tigers, who are the second alternate for the college division final on Saturday.
"We had a pretty solid day," said head coach Ralph Spry. "This is our last meet before the SEC Championships, and our main focus is just to stay competitive and get sharper. We ran fairly well today and got a couple of teams qualified for tomorrow. We're right where we need to be and I'm pleased with our effort. I'm feeling pretty good about our team right now - we're healthy and looking sharp."
Junior Danielle Gilchrist finished 12th in the prelims of the women's 100-meter hurdles, improving her regional qualifying time to 13.68 seconds, while Shaquela Williams finished 14th in the prelims of the women's 100 meters with a time of 11.90. Senior Jhak Keegan started the day by placing 23rd in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.54 seconds.
The Tigers also had one field event athlete competing Saturday at the Triton Invitational in San Diego, where junior Valentina Srsa placed 12th in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 52.29 meters (171-1), which is a season best still just shy of the NCAA regional qualifying mark of 54.15 meters.
Auburn also had a number of men's distance runners schedule to compete late Friday night at the Oregon Relays.
Action for the Tigers at the Penn Relays and Triton Invitational concludes on Saturday, while other members of the Auburn squad will compete at the Coach O Invitational hosted by Troy University.