Women's Track And Field Sends Six To NCAA Regionals
5/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 24, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's track and field team will send six competitors to the 2005 NCAA Mideast Regional which will be held Friday and Saturday (May 27-28) at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex on the campus of Indiana University.
The top five individuals and top three relay teams in each event in each of the four regional competitions will automatically qualify for the 2005 NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Athletes qualify for regional competition by obtaining marks that were above the standard, or winning their conference championship in either an individual or relay event. The 10,000-meter run and the decathlon are the only two events that qualifying is based on competition outside the regional championships.
Complete information on the event, including results, can be found by visiting www.iuhoosiers.com.
Michigan State has six athletes making the trip to Bloomington. On Friday, Cynetheia Rooks will compete in the prelims of both the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Rooks is seeded ninth in the 400 and 10th in the 200. Also on Friday, Michelle Rafferty will run in the 5,000-meter run, in which she is ranked 16th, while Mickie Rzepka will compete in the pole vault, where she is seeded tied for fourth.
On Saturday, Melinda Buckmaster will take part in the javelin, where she is seeded ninth, and Taren James will compete in the triple jump, an event in which she is ranked tied for 21st. Michelle Carson will also run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Saturday, where she is seeded 18th.
Michigan State finished eighth at last year's Mideast Regional meet in Baton Rouge, La., with 32 points. Rooks finished fourth in the 200, qualifying for the NCAA Championships, and eighth in the 400. Sherita Williams also qualified for the NCAA Championships by placing first in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump, while Jamie Krzyminski was second in the 5,000.
Qualifying members of the Michigan State team will compete at the 2005 NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.