April 27, 2012
PHILADELPHIA - Auburn track and field overcame temperatures in the low 50s and winds gusting up to 25 mph to post a solid Friday at the 2012 Penn Relays at historic Franklin Field.
"The weather was pretty tough," Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. "It's cool and pretty windy, but that affects everyone. Overall, we had a pretty solid day. We won our heat with no problem in the 4x1 men's race. Harry kind of cramped up a little, so we had to back off in the second leg. I've got to wait and see how he feels. Tomorrow is the championship, and hopefully he will be able to run."
Running for just the second time this season, the Auburn men's 4x100m relay team placed first in heat two with a time of 40.15 seconds on Friday afternoon. The mark was the third-fastest overall and moved the Tigers to Saturday's finals scheduled for 12:50 p.m.
Auburn finished behind only LSU (39.72) and Illinois (39.94) in the preliminary round.
"Kai and V'alonee for the women along with Jeremy for the men are in the finals of the 100 meters tomorrow," Spry said. "I'm looking for those three to perform well in the championship. The women competed well and finished fifth in the 4x100 meters. That gives them some good momentum going into SECs."
Junior Jeremy Hardy won the third heat of the men's 100 meters in 10.58 seconds. With the victory, he advances to Saturday's finals. The 100 meter final is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Kai Selvon recorded the fastest time in the women's 100 meter prelims and finished just .01 seconds off her fastest career time with her mark of 11.43 seconds. V'alonee Robinson was sixth overall (11.70), Alycia Prior was 10th (11.81) and Ashley Cruder was 12th (11.88).
Selvon and Robinson will run for the women's 100 meter dash championship on Saturday at 2:35 p.m.
The Auburn women placed fifth in the finals of the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 44.86 seconds. Texas A&M (43.87) finish in first place.
Freshman Siobhan Ford-Holland finished eighth in the women's college triple jump with her mark of 40-1.5 feet. The mark is a new PR for the Chester, Va. native and improves upon her previous season high of 39-1.75 feet.
Monica Carney and Maya Pressley finished in third and fourth place, respectively, in the women's college high jump championship with clearance at 5-10.75. The duo both missed at 6-0.5, while Middle Tennessee's Ann Dudley took home the title.
Sophomore DJ Smith will compete for the college men's high jump championship on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
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