North Carolina Central University

INDOOR TRACK

     North Carolina Central University senior sprinter Jason Smoots will attempt to win his third consecutive indoor track national championship this weekend as one of three NCCU qualifiers for the 2003 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston on March 14-15.
     Smoots, a native of Gadsden, Alabama, captured his first of five national championships (two indoor, three outdoor) as a sophomore by winning the 55-meter dash in 6.26 seconds. The following year, the 55m event was replaced with the 60m dash. As a junior, he successfully defended his indoor national title by winning the 60m dash with a time of 6.66 seconds. If Smoots runs to victory on Saturday, he will become the first three-time winner of the indoor sprint (55m/60m) in NCAA Division II history (dating back to 1985). He would also become just the 10th Division II student-athlete to win three or more national titles during their indoor track & field career.
     "Jason wants to go out as a senior with a national championship," said NCCU head track & field/cross country coach Michael Lawson. "He ran a 6.54 in the finals of the USA Championships at the same venue two weeks ago. His goal is to lower that time to 6.45 seconds."
     Smoots' quest begins with the 60m dash preliminaries on Friday (March 14) at 6:30 p.m. The 60m finals will be held Saturday (March 15) at 4:00 p.m.
     Sophomore Chanda Powell, who claimed outdoor All-America honors in the long jump as a freshman, has qualified for her second indoor national championship event in both the 60m hurdles and long jump. In her first NCAA indoor appearance, the Durham, NC native did not advance into the finals of the 60m hurdles. However, after winning this year's conference indoor championship title in the 60m hurdles and earning All-CIAA honors in the long jump, Lawson thinks Powell is ready for the big stage.
     "I really expect Chanda to do well," Lawson said. "She is feeling very confident now in both events, and is continuing to improve and mature."
     Powell's conditioning will be tested on Friday, as the sophomore is schedule to compete in the long jump finals at 5:30 p.m., followed by the preliminaries of the 60m hurdles at 5:45 p.m. The 60m hurdles finals will be contested Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
     Senior Kennisha Moten, who has earned All-America honors in her past four trips to indoor and outdoor national championship events, will compete in the 400m dash in search of her sixth All-American citation. At last year's NCAA indoor championships, the Fayetteville, NC native placed eighth in the 400m dash with a time of 56.41.
     "As a senior, Kennisha knows what it takes to become an All-American again," Lawson said. "She has not had a lot of practice time because of her academic commitments, but she promised me she was going to give it all she's got."
     Moten will run in the 400m preliminaries at 6:15 p.m. Friday. The 400m finals are scheduled for 3:50 p.m. Saturday.
 

Last Revised:  March 12, 2003