web Charlotte

May 29, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. - On day one of competition, senior All-American Pat Springs led the way for the Charlotte 49ers track and field team as the long jumper finished fifth to book her ticket to the NCAA Championships at Arkansas in June.

Springs turned in a jump of 20'9" to qualify for the finals in the event. The mark for Springs would place her in fifth after the final set of jumps as Springs advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second time in her career. Her 20'9" leap set a new season-best for the Winston-Salem, N.C. native.

In the sprinting events, Charlotte's 4x100 meter relay squad put itself in Saturday's final with a 44.84 second finish. The time was a new season-best for the Niners and placed them seventh overall, while posting the sixth-fastest time.

Senior Lamarra Currie placed second in the first heat of the 100 meter dash in a time of 11.48 seconds. Currie's 11.48 second time was good enough for third place in the prelims after the Apex, N.C. native came into the meet with the region's top time. Freshman Sirrell Butler finished sixth out of the fifth heat with a time of 11.98 seconds.

Currie followed up her 100 meter performance with a victory in her heat of the 200 meter dash in a time of 23.76 seconds. Currie's time was the fourth-fastest following the preliminary heats.

Senior Aja Jackson continued a stellar 49er career by qualifying for the finals in the 800 meter dash. Jackson's time of 2:06.97 was good enough for second in her heat and was the third-fastest overall.

Sophomore Darius Law continued to impress during his second year as the Raleigh, N.C. native won his heat of the 400 meter dash. Law's time of 46.40 seconds was the eighth-fastest time in the prelims.

Law would then turn in a 20.89 second finish in the first heat of the 200 meter dash to place second in the heat. His 20.89 second time was seventh-fastest following the preliminary heats.

Freshman Sam Jordan finished seventh in his 100 meter dash heat with a 10.64 second time. Jordan's time was good enough for 20th overall.

In the short hurdles, Sunita Brathwaite finished 19th in the prelims with a 13.93 second finish. Brathwaite finished fourth in her heat.

Sophomore Korel Mack paced the Niners out of heat one with a 14.54 second finish to finish 28th following the prelims of the 110 meter hurdles. Mack's teammate, Isaac McReynolds turned in a 14.79 second time in the event to finish 33rd overall.

Charlotte's lone competitor in the throwing events was sophomore Jason Roberts. Roberts finished tenth in his heat and 31st overall with a 50'4 ½" toss in the shot put.

"Things went well today, the primary point of this regional championship is to qualify for the NCAA National Championship and the athletes that were ranked highly with expectations to advance did what they needed to do today," said head coach Bob Olesen. "Pat Springs did a great job securing an automatic qualifying spot in the long jump despite having her final attempts disrupted by anchoring the 4x100m relay. Lamarra Currie, Darius Law, and Aja Jackson had solid races to advance to Saturday's final and we'll see if they and the women's 4x100m relay can secure automatic spots on Saturday."

Charlotte's finalists and a number of select field event competitors will be in action tomorrow as the NCAA East Region Championships wrap up in Greensboro, N.C. For up to the minute results, follow the Niners on Twitter at twitter.com/Charlotte49ers.