FAYETTEVILLE, Ark - Tulane junior sprinter Olivia Kizzee set a personal best in the semifinals of the 200-meter dash at the 88th Annual NCAA Men's and Women's Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday. She advanced to the semis with a 23.80 time in the prelims and then turned in a 23.45 for a new best mark in the semis, to finish 16th.
"I am very proud and excited about how Olivia handled and represented Tulane University at her first NCAA meet," head coach Heather Van Norman said. "As a program, we have reached the highest level and I an looking forward to next season already. Kizzee is consistently learning her events. She finished the season in the top 16 female sprinters in the 100 and 200m, she will continue to compete this summer, and had two seasonal personnel nests this week. I d say we had a great season."
In the prelims, she finished third in heat one, posting a 23.80 time, and was seeded 16th in the semis. She placed ninth in heat two of the semifinals, but set a new career best mark in the event, as her time of 23.45 topped her Regional Championship time of 23.49.
Kizzee turned in a personal best time of 11.43 in the preliminary round of the 100-meter dash on Wednesday, but finished seventh in her heat in the semis to finish 13th with a time of 11.70. Virtually all 18 of the semifinalists posted slower times in the semis after the event was delayed by lightning from its intended 6:10 start until after 10:30 p.m.