North Carolina Central University

TRACK & FIELD

     EMPORIA, Kan. - North Carolina Central University freshman Jessica Mills captured a national title in the women's triple jump at the 2006 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Emporia, Kan. Friday, and she did so in convincing fashion.
     On her third attempt, the Thorofare, N.J. native recorded the ninth-longest triple jump in NCAA Division II Championship history with a leap of 42-feet, 6.75 inches (12.97m).
     Mills is just the third female track & field national champion for NCCU, and the first Lady Eagle to claim the nation's top honor in a field event.
     NCCU men and women have also qualified for the finals in five individual events and four relays.
     Senior Sharonda Arnold qualified for the 400-meter dash finals with a season-best time of 54.52.
     Junior Hakeem Mohammed has qualified in two individual events, advancing in the 200m dash with the third-fastest time of 21.05 in the preliminaries and in the 400m dash with the sixth-best time of 46.96.
     Sophomore Maurice Gailey advanced to the finals of the 200m dash with a season-best effort of 21.11, while freshman Brandon Jones cruised to a heat one victory in the preliminaries of the 800m run with a time of 1:54.71.
     Three of NCCU's four relay squads posted season-best performances in the preliminary rounds, with all four advancing to the finals.
     The men's 4x400m relay (Gailey, Jones, Mohammed, Dorian Turner) clocked the third-best time of the preliminaries with a season-best 3:09.24. The women's 4x400m relay (Arnold, Tyfia Lee, Ambria Alexander, Christina Harris) qualified with the fourth-fastest time of 3:42.17, nearly three seconds better than their previous season-best performance. The women's 4x100m relay (Tiffany Mitchell, Harris, Arnold, Lee) also recorded a season best time of 46.14 to qualify sixth for the finals, while the men's 4x100m foursome (Jason Jowers, Mohammed, Turner, Gailey) also qualified for the finals by placing sixth in the preliminaries (40.66).
 

NCCU Results from 2006 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships

PRELIMINARIES:

Women's 4x100-Meter Relay
NCCU (6th) 46.14 (qualifies for finals) *** season-best time
(Tiffany Mitchell, Christina Harris, Sharonda Arnold, Tyfia Lee)

Men's 4x100-Meter Relay
NCCU (6th) 40.66 (qualifies for finals)
(Jason Jowers, Hakeem Mohammed, Dorian Turner, Maurice Gailey)

Women's 400-Meter Dash
Sharonda Arnold (5th) 54.52 (qualifies for finals) *** season-best time

Men's 400-Meter Dash
Hakeem Mohammed (6th) 46.96 (qualifies for finals)

Men's 100-Meter Dash
Maurice Gailey (11th) 10.64

Men's 400-Meter Hurdles
Shareef Muhammad (20th) 54.50

Women's 200-Meter Dash
Sharonda Arnold (18th) 24.63

Men's 200-Meter Dash
Hakeem Mohammed (3rd) 21.05 (qualifies for finals) 
Maurice Gailey (4th) 21.11 (qualifies for finals) *** season-best time
Dorian Turner (12th) 21.35

Men's 800-Meter Run
Brandon Jones (1st, Heat 1) 1:54.71 (qualifies for finals) 

Women's 4x400-Meter Relay
NCCU (4th) 3:42.17 (qualifies for finals) *** season-best time
(Sharonda Arnold, Tyfia Lee, Ambria Alexander, Christina Harris)

Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
NCCU (3rd) 3:09.24 (qualifies for finals) *** season-best time
(Maurice Gailey, Brandon Jones, Hakeem Mohammed, Dorian Turner)
 

FINALS

Women's Long Jump
Christina Harris (16th) 5.51m/18-01.00

Women's Triple Jump
Jessica Mills (1st) 12.97m/42-06.75 - NATIONAL CHAMPION !!!