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Ash wins hurdles; Seven others make All-American
From Onnidan.com
Bethune-Cookman hurdler Ronnie Ash won the men's 110-meter national title at the 2009 NCAA Div. I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas over the weekend.
Ash fought off a challenge from South Carolina's Jason Richardson, the No. 1
ranked hurdler in the country, to take the title in a
career-best time of 13.27 seconds.
"I knew Jason [Richardson] was going to come out hard," commented Ash following the race. "I think he may have slipped out of the blocks a little bit, and that was the only window I needed. It feels good to defend my indoor title against a field like this. I knew I had to bring my A-game, and I did."
Ash won the indoor title in the 60-meter hurdles earlier this year.
Teammate Joel Redhead finished eighth in the 200-meter dash to earn All-Amercan status and give the Wildcats 11 overall point to place 23rd overall.
NC A&T and Hampton also produced two All-Americans.
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| DSU's Murray |
A&T's All-Americans were Alexandria Spruiel and Loreal Smith. The two All-American finishes marked the first time in school history two Aggies running in individual events became All-Americans in the same meet.
They are also the first two females to become outdoor All-Americans in school history. Spruiel finished sixth in the women's 400 meter finals with a school-record time of 51.59. Saturday marked the third time she has broken the 400 meter record this season.
Smith earned All-American status by finishing seventh in the women's 100 meter hurdles with a time of 13.43.
"I'm elated," said Roy Thompson, N.C. A&T's director of track and field programs. "These are monumental accomplishments. The performances Alex and Loreal have been able to render throughout their careers have been tremendous, and they have put our program on another level."
Thompson, who is in his 28th season as the leader of the Aggies track and program, went on to say that Spruiel and Smith's careers rank among the top five careers he has witnessed over the last 20 years of Aggies track and field men and women.
Hampton's Francena McCorory finished third in the 400-meter dash while fellow Pirate Reggie Dixon was 8th in the 100-meter finals.
Delaware State University freshman Leslie Murray finished sixth in the 400-meter hurdles finals. The 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles is DSU's first track & field All-America since the NCAA adopted its current championship format in 2000.
Maryland-Eastern Shore's Allodin Fothergill finished 6th in the men's 400m dash to round out the HBCU All-American roster for this year's national meet.
© 2009 Azeez Communications, Inc.