GREENSBORO, NC – During the final day of competition at the NCAA Track East Preliminary Round at Irwin Belk Track on the North Carolina A&T campus, South Carolina State's best chance for a trip to the June 9-12 NCAA National Track Championship in Eugene, Ore. was foiled with a bad exchange on the first leg.
The Lady Bulldog team of Monique Gracia, Arnetra Frazier, Alexandria Jones and Nicole Mobley finished with a time of 45.64 for seventh place in the opening heat, however, only the top three from each heat advanced, along with the next three best times.
Mobley was the only senior on the team, as both Gracia and Jones are sophomores and Frazier a freshman. Alternate Erica Peake , the likely replacement for Mobley, is also a freshman.
SC State triple jumpers Jasmine Smith and Marcus Stephens also failed to advance as Smith, a senior, had a jump of 40.04 feet to finish 27th and Stephens a leap of 48-10 to place 37th.
Coach Tyree Price's teams had a total of ten competitors – seven women and three men – participate in the meet, which had approximately 1,900 student-athletes from 166 colleges and universities.
Price expressed disappointment that none of his student-athletes earned a trip to Eugene, but noted his teams made great strides this season and that the forecast for the future was bright.
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