Three Spartans To Compete At NCAA Track And Field Championships
6/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
June 1, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Three members of the Michigan State women's track and field team will compete at the NCAA Championships June 9-12 in Austin, Texas, it was confirmed today by the NCAA Track and Field committee. Senior Sherita Williams will participate in both the long jump and the triple jump, senior Jamie Krzyminski will run in the 10,000-meter run and freshman Cynetheia Rooks will compete in the 200-meter dash.
Williams is seeded 14th in the triple jump and 17th in the long jump entering the NCAA Championships after setting new school records in both events last weekend at the NCAA Mideast Regionals. Williams won the long jump on Friday, May 28, soaring 20-7 3/4, then placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 43-5 on Saturday, May 29.
Williams will compete in the long jump preliminaries at 5:30 p.m. (Central time) Wednesday, June 9, with the finals slated for Thursday, June 10 at 5:30 p.m. The qualifying round of the triple jump will take place Friday, June 11, at 6:15 p.m., with the finals taking place Saturday, June 12, at 4:45 p.m.
Rooks qualified in the 200-meter dash after finishing fourth in the finals at the NCAA Mideast Regional with a wind-aided time of 23.41. Her time of 23.49 at the Big Ten Championships May 16 ranks her tied for 20th entering the NCAA Championships. She will take part in the prelims of the 200 Thursday, June 10, at 5:20 p.m. The finals will be contested Saturday, June 12, at 8:15 p.m. Rooks did not receive an at-large for the 400-meter dash after finishing eighth at the Regionals in 53.27.
Krzyminski automatically qualified for the 10,000-meter run when she ran a 32:52.81 March 25 at the Stanford Invitational. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 5,000-meter run by placing second, but elected to run in the 10,000 only at the NCAA Championships. The race will take place Thursday, June 10 at 9:25 p.m.
Several other MSU student-athletes competed at the NCAA Regionals but did not qualify for the NCAA Championships. Among those was senior Sarah Adelaine, who just missed out on finishing in the top five and automatically qualifying for the NCAAs in the hammer throw with a sixth-place finish (186-4). Adelaine also finished 10th (48-9 1/2) in the shot put and 28th in the discus (137-4).
Also competing for MSU at the Mideast Regional was junior Mickie Rzepka, who tied for ninth in the pole vault (12-4), seniors Sarah Pepera and Michelle Carson, who finished 11th (10:41.71) and 12th (10:47.56), respectively, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Taren James, who placed 22nd in the triple jump (39-7 1/4) and freshman Michelle Rossio, who was 27th in the discus (140-10).