North Carolina Central University

OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD

     ABILENE, TEXAS -- Three North Carolina Central University relay teams posted season-best times en route to All-America honors at the 2005 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Elmer Gray Stadium on the campus of Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, on Saturday (May 28).
     The men's 4x100m relay foursome, consisting of Jason Jowers (Winston-Salem, NC), Detric Branch (Garner, NC), Dorian Turner (Irmo, SC) and Maurice Gailey (Pensacola, FL), placed third in the championship event with a season-best time of 40.21 seconds. 
     The women's 4x100m relay squad, consisting of Tiffany Mitchell (Philadelphia, PA), Christina Harris (Charlotte, NC), Sharonda Arnold (Fayetteville, NC) and Nina Warren (Gaithersburg, MD), also finished third with a season-best effort of 45.72 seconds.
     The men's 4x400m relay team, consisting of Austin-Lamar Hogan (Dekalb, GA), Branch, Eric Speer (Tampa, FL) and Turner, placed fourth in the finals with a season-best time of 3:09.63.
     "It's great to come back to Durham with 10 All-Americans," said NCCU head track & field coach Michael Lawson. "They all performed their best when it mattered the most. And all of those are fast times."

     IN EARLIER ACTION...
     Six NCCU runners competed individually during the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championships, but did not qualify for the finals. Speer placed 14th in the men's 800m run (1:54.65); Warren finished 15th in the women's 200m dash (24.54); Branch and Gailey placed 17th (21.42) and 21st (21.58), respectively, in the men's 200m dash; Arnold finished 23rd in the women's 400m dash (57.84); and Mohammed was disqualified after false starting in the men's 400m dash.