AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Drake junior Ari Curtis (Fort Collins, Colo.) finished sixth overall in the semifinal round of the women's 400 hurdles at the NCAA West Regional Friday night to advance to next weekend's NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Curtis used a school-record performance with a 57.98 second clocking to become the first Drake woman to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships since Gina DeWitt finished fifth in the finals of the 800 in 1996.

"I'm so happy to be able to represent Drake track and field at the national level," said Curtis. "The program was ready and personally, I was ready for a breakthrough like this.

"It's a great feeling to close the gap between knowing you can do it and actually doing it."

Twenty-four athletes competed in three semifinal heats with the top 12 overall fastest times advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Curtis led through the first nine hurdles in her second heat before finishing second.

"It was a gutsy, strong race," said Drake head coach Natasha Brown. "She got out well again. But the most impressive part was her finish. She was leading over the ninth hurdle and everyone was closing fast. She held off some late charges."

It marked the fourth time Curtis has lowered the school record in the 400 hurdles this spring. This time around she bettered her previous school mark of 58.27 set at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship May 14.

"Ari (Curtis) is an amazing, confident athlete," added Drake assistant coach Kevin Henderson, who coaches the hurdlers. "Her drive to perfect the event makes her a strong competitor."

Event 30  Women 400 Meter Hurdles
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 6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr. 
 Advance top 3 from each qtr. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.  
    American: A 52.61  8/11/1995   Kim Batten, Reebok            
College Best: C 53.47  8/29/1991   Janeene Vickers, UCLA         
   NCAA Meet:   53.54  6/13/2004   Sheena Johnson, UCLA          
    Name                    Year School                   Semis  H#
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Semi-Finals                                                      
  1 Dalilah Muhammad          SO Southern California      57.16Q  1
  2 Angele Cooper             SO Texas                    57.36Q  3
  3 Kianna Elahi              SO Iowa State               57.52Q  2
  4 Brittany Hyter            SO Arkansas                 57.52Q  3
  5 Jasmine Chaney            JR Arizona State            57.67Q  1
  6 Ari Curtis                JR Drake                    57.98Q  2
  7 Georganne Moline          FR Arizona                  57.88Q  3
  8 Christina Holland         FR Baylor                   57.99Q  2
  9 Keia Pinnick              FR Arizona State            58.03Q  1
 10 Latoya Griffith           SO Illinois                 58.05q  1
 11 Donique' Flemings         FR Texas A&M                58.10q  2
 12 Andrea Sutherland         JR Texas A&M                58.20q  2
 13 Turquoise Thompson        FR UCLA                     58.25   3
 14 Kendra Deck               SR Southern Illinois        58.61   1
 15 Leah Orley                FR Arkansas                 58.77   3
 16 Leslie Farmer             SO Missouri                 58.92   2
 17 Egle Staisiunaite         JR Wisconsin                59.03   3
 18 Tredene Davis             JR Southern Illinois        59.33   1
 19 Donnise Powell            FR Iowa State             1:00.09   2
 20 Veronica Elseroad-Wall    JR Washington State       1:00.80   3
 21 Latrisha Jordan           SO Fresno State           1:01.07   1
 22 Kelly Stalpes             SO Minnesota              1:01.09   2
 23 Brittnay Crabb            SO Washington State       1:01.54   3
 24 Sarah Frey                SR Eastern Washington     1:02.68   1