North Carolina State University Athletics
Track Sending 12 Individuals to Outdoor NCAA Championships
6/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track
June 2, 2004
Raleigh, N.C. - The NC State track & field team will be sending 12 athletes to compete in 10 events at the 2004 Outdoor NCAA Championships at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, June 9-12. The Wolfpack has an opportunity to come away with some of its best results ever, as NC State has five athletes seeded in the top-10 of higher, four athletes that set new school records in their events, two NCAA Regional champions, and one former national champion all traveling to the NCAA Championships.
Ebony Foster and Felicia Fant will once again have busy days in the sprints for the Wolfpack, as each runner will compete in two separate races. Foster has been one of the top hurdlers all season, ranking eighth in the 100 meter hurdles with a top time of 12.98. Foster once again broke her own school record and won the ACC Championship, and was second at last weekend's NCAA Regionals. Fant will be the 13th seed in the 100 meters with a top time of 11.43, she finished third at the NCAA Regionals. Both Fant and Foster are also part of the women's 4x100 meter relay squad, along with freshmen Courtney Patterson and Joya Rodgers. The relay squad is the 19th seeded team with a top time of 44.63, the squad won the ACC Championship and also set a new school record.
Kristin Price will once again return to the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meters, as she was an automatic qualifier. Just running that race once this season, Price ran a 34:07.88 at the ACC Championships and will be the 12th seed for the NCAAs. Price is running in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championships for the third straight year. She was the national champion in 2002, and came back last season to finish third. Renee Gunning will also be making a return trip to the NCAA Championships, as she will run in the 5,000 meters. Gunning finished 11th at the NCAAs a year ago, and her top time of 16:09.74 ranks her eight this year.
Freshmen distance runners Julia Lucas and Kristina Roth will both be making their debuts at the NCAA Championships. Roth qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase after her strong showing at last weekend's NCAA Regionals. Roth finished fourth in that race with a season best time of 10:18.33, and is the 22nd seed for the NCAA Championships. Lucas is the second NC State runner to qualify for the 5,000 meters, her top time of 16:14.83 ranks her 10th.
The men's team will be sending four athletes to compete in four events, highlighted by two individuals who won their event at last weekend's NCAA Regionals. James Rowell set a new NC State school record, one that stood since 1983, when he won the discus with a toss of 190'07" at the NCAA Regionals. Rowell enters the NCAA Championships as the 14th seed. Andy Smith also came away with a title at the NCAA Regionals, as Smith won the steeplechase with his season best time of 8:42.94, a time that ranks him eighth for the NCAAs. The back-to-back 3,000 meter steeplechase champion at the ACC Championships, Smith earned All-American honors a year ago with his seventh place showing at the 2003 NCAA Championships.
Chad Pearson was an automatic qualifier for NC State in the 10,000 meters. Pearson broke his own school record in the 10,000 meters with a top time of 28:37.95 this season, ranking him fifth for the NCAA Championships. This will be Pearson's second trip to the NCAA Championships for the 10,000 meters, he placed 18th in 2002. Making his debut at the NCAA Championships will be freshman Bobby Mack in the 5,000 meters, his top time of 14:08.22 ranks him 22nd.
Every NC State competitor, except for the runners in the 10,000 meters will compete in the prelims of their event on Wednesday. The finals of the 10,000 meters are set for Thursday, with the remaining NC State athlete's finals running on Friday and the 5,000 meters on Saturday.
