Billy Ray Walker, Larry Jones, Women's 4x400m Relay Advance to NCAA Championships
May 30, 2010 GREENSBORO, N.C. - Billy Ray Walker and Larry Jones both punched their tickets for Eugene while the women's 4x400m relay team also qualified for the NCAA Championships as action wrapped up at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships in Greensboro late Saturday. Billy Ray Walker shaved two-tenths of a second off his personal best time Saturday and qualified for the NCAA Championships with the sixth-fastest 110m hurdles time in the quarterfinals. After running a then-personal record time of 13.95 in the opening round Friday, Walker ran 13.74 in the quarterfinals Saturday to advance to Eugene. "It was exciting," Walker said. "I didn't know what I had ran until over a minute after the race, I just knew I didn't finish top three. I was waiting to see the time they posted on the videoboard and I was happy. I can't explain the feeling. This has probably been the most nervous I have been before a race. My mother used to tell me all the time that if I was going to pray, then don't worry after I prayed because it is like having no faith. I just tried my best to keep a clean mind without being nervous." Larry Jones punched his ticket for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. Saturday as his discus throw of 178' 7" (54.45m) placed him eighth. With only the top 12 advancing to the NCAA Championships, Jones sat in 14th place with a mark of 173' 1" until, in his final throw, he added another five and a half feet and jumped into a qualifying place. "I wasn't nervous and was actually at peace during the whole thing," Jones recalled. "My main thing was to put everything in the circle and have no regrets. I just finished with a lot of speed because Coach [Larry] Carmichael told me to add speed [before the last throw]. I added a lot of speed at the front and let it go."
The men's 4x100m relay team fell less than a tenth of a second shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championships Saturday. The quartet of Albert Fullwood, Kevin Stewart, Mike Coleman and Terry Carter ran a season-best time 39.86, finishing 14th as the top 12 teams advanced to Eugene.
The men'x 4x400m relay team of Josh Goree, Wade MaGaha, Justin Terry and Albert Fullwood ran the second-fastest time of the season. With a mark of 3:09.80, Louisiana Tech finished fifth in its heat and beat teams from Clemson and Cincinnati, placing 18th overall. In a heartbreaking turn of events, Antoinette Cobb injured her ankle coming over the second-to-last hurdle in the quarterfinal round of the 100m hurdles and did not qualify for the NCAA Championships. Ranked seventh in the nation, Cobb concludes her career at Louisiana Tech having run four of the five fastest 100m hurdle times in school history. In the women's triple jump, Quatisha Williams fell just shy of advancing to the NCAA Championships, placing 17th in the triple jump with a mark of 41' 1.5" (12.53m). Brittany Guy also competed in the triple jump and finished 40th with a mark of 39' 10.5" (12.15m). Quanisha Sales was scheduled to run in the 200m quarterfinals Saturday, but a hamstring injury suffered at the end of the opening round of the 200m Friday evening prevented her from competing. Sales was also scratched from the 4x100m relay due to the injury. Athletes that qualified to advance will compete at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. on June 9-13.
For complete coverage of Louisiana Tech Track and Field, please visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.