Four women head to NCAA West Prelims
5/18/2011 9:15:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
The meet will take place at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
Competitors in the meet will be vying for the right to advance to the NCAA Division I finals to be held in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8-11.
Sam Houston women traveling to Oregon include Sabrina Starr in the 100 hurdles (13.77), Dakota Stewart in the 400 hurdles (1:00.05), Ambra McGuin in the triple jump (42' 8.75") and Christina Webb in the shot put (49' 1").
Senior Chris Cralle from College Station enters the West Preliminary Round ranked among the top 10 nationaly in their respective events.
Cralle stands seventh in the hammer with a throw of 224' 0". Cralle won his third Southland Conference hammer title last Sunday in Natchitoches, La., with a throw of 206' 8". He also won the Southland hammer in 2008 (200' 2") and 2009 (209' 10").
Earlier this spring, Cralle became the second Bearkat athlete to win gold at the Texas Relays. He took first place with a mark of 221' 1" to out-distance a field of 19 finalists that included defending NCAA champion Walter Henning of LSU.
Junior Matt Johnson owns the ninth best decathlon mark in NCAA Division I men's track this year. He posted a total of 7,686 points in the Angelo State meet this year. Johnson passed up the decathlon in the Southland Conference meet last weekend, picking up important points in individual field events that helped the Bearkats achieve a fourth place team finish. Johnson will be making the trip to Oregon as an alternate for the relay team. He already has qualified for nationals in decathlon.
Other Sam Houston men's competitors traveling to the meet in Oregon and their top mark this year are D. J. Hayes in the 400 meters (46.49), Scottie Jones in the 110 meter hurdles (13.94), Henry Jordan in the long jump (24' 9.25"), Louis Hedgeman in the high jump (6' 11") and the triple jump (49' 3.5"), Karique Stephen in the triple jumpr (50' 5.5") and Jacob Shultz and Preston Sanders both in the shot put (marks of 57' 7" and 56' 1.75", respectively).
Hayes will also join Marquis Sneed, Rodney Johnson and Brian Helaire in the 4x400 relay. The Bearkats won the 4x400 Southland title with a time of 3:09.97.
