EUGENE, ORE. -- Drake junior Ari Curtis (Fort Collins, Colo.) set her fifth school record of the season in the 400 hurdles, but fell short by 18-hundreths of a second in qualifying for the finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday night.
Curtis had to overcome three re-starts in her race before finishing third in heat two of the semifinal round, being clocked in 57.89 seconds to better her previous school record of 57.98 seconds set at the NCAA West Regional in Austin, Texas, last Friday.
"It was probably my best race of the year," said Curtis. "It's hard to be disappointed. Missing the finals is bittersweet but it gives me more fuel in the fire to do well next year."
She owned the 10th fastest overall time out of the 24 runners competing in the event with the top eight advancing into Friday's final.
Virginia Tech's Queen Quedith Harrison posted the fastest qualifying time of 55.35.
On the bright side, Curtis did meet the provisional qualifying standard
of 57.95 to compete in the upcoming USA Outdoor Track and Field
Championships June 23-27 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
"It was Ari's best race of the year in terms of technically being sound," said Drake assistant coach Kevin Henderson who coaches the hurdles. "She ran pretty much as hard as she could. She beat some of the best hurdlers in the country. This is a stepping stone for her and she is well on her way.
"Our ultimate goal was to get Ari qualified for the USA National Championships which she did. She is to the point where she understands the race and she doesn't back down to anyone."
NCAA Division I 2010 Outdoor
Track & Field Championships
Eugene, Or - 6/9/2010 to 6/12/2010
Event 30 Women 400 Meter Hurdles
================================================================
3 Heats. Advance top 2 from each heat plus next best 2 to final
American: A 52.61 8/11/1995 Kim Batten, Reebok
College Best: C 53.47 8/29/1991 Janeene Vickers, UCLA
NCAA Meet: M 53.54 6/13/2004 Sheena Johnson, UCLA
Hayward: S 53.78 2009 Lashinda Demus, USA
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Queen Quedith Harrison SR Virginia Tech 55.35Q
2 Angele Cooper SO Texas 56.24Q
3 Erica Moore SR Indiana State 57.25q
4 Jasmine Chaney JR Arizona State 57.71q
5 Jernail Hayes SR Seton Hall 58.38
6 Ellen Wortham SO Tennessee 59.05
7 Christina Holland FR Baylor 1:00.04
8 Donique' Flemings FR Texas A&M 1:00.60
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 Ti'erra Brown JR Miami 56.02Q
2 Tameka Jameson JR Miami 57.16Q
3 Ari Curtis JR Drake 57.89
4 Cassandra Tate SO LSU 58.12
5 Kianna Elahi SO Iowa State 58.63
6 Megan Duncan JR Penn State 58.70
7 Keia Pinnick FR Arizona State 59.47
8 Andrea Sutherland JR Texas A&M 59.52
Heat 3 Preliminaries
1 Fawn Dorr SR Penn State 56.16Q
2 Takecia Jameson JR Miami 57.58Q
3 Dalilah Muhammad SO Southern California 57.85
4 Brittany Hyter SO Arkansas 58.37
5 Latoya Griffith SO Illinois 58.95
6 LaToya James JR North Carolina 58.97
7 Georganne Moline FR Arizona 59.39
8 Evonne Britton FR Penn State 1:00.12
================================================================
3 Heats. Advance top 2 from each heat plus next best 2 to final
American: A 52.61 8/11/1995 Kim Batten, Reebok
College Best: C 53.47 8/29/1991 Janeene Vickers, UCLA
NCAA Meet: M 53.54 6/13/2004 Sheena Johnson, UCLA
Hayward: S 53.78 2009 Lashinda Demus, USA
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Preliminaries
1 Queen Quedith Harrison SR Virginia Tech 55.35Q
2 Ti'erra Brown JR Miami 56.02Q
3 Fawn Dorr SR Penn State 56.16Q
4 Angele Cooper SO Texas 56.24Q
5 Tameka Jameson JR Miami 57.16Q
6 Takecia Jameson JR Miami 57.58Q
7 Erica Moore SR Indiana State 57.25q
8 Jasmine Chaney JR Arizona State 57.71q
9 Dalilah Muhammad SO Southern California 57.85
10 Ari Curtis JR Drake 57.89
11 Cassandra Tate SO LSU 58.12
12 Brittany Hyter SO Arkansas 58.37
13 Jernail Hayes SR Seton Hall 58.38
14 Kianna Elahi SO Iowa State 58.63
15 Megan Duncan JR Penn State 58.70
16 Latoya Griffith SO Illinois 58.95
17 LaToya James JR North Carolina 58.97
18 Ellen Wortham SO Tennessee 59.05
19 Georganne Moline FR Arizona 59.39
20 Keia Pinnick FR Arizona State 59.47
21 Andrea Sutherland JR Texas A&M 59.52
22 Christina Holland FR Baylor 1:00.04
23 Evonne Britton FR Penn State 1:00.12
24 Donique' Flemings FR Texas A&M 1:00.60
