UNCP Remains Seventh In USTFCCCA Region Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – With a second place finish at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships, the UNCP women's track and field team held strong in seventh place in the region rankings of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the fourth consecutive week on Tuesday.

Mount Olive still leads the region in first followed by King, Columbus State, Limestone, Wingate, and Anderson (S.C.). Lees-McRae, Queens (N.C.) and Barton finished the standings behind UNCP in eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

Freshmen Damita Ford and Jazmiene Brown each moved into eighth place individually as Ford set a new personal best in the 100m dash with a time of 12.56 seconds, while Brown ran a 25.53 second 200m dash. 

Junior Annette Sem improved on her 10000m run time as she moved into sixth overall in the event with a time of 40:25.84, while fellow distance runner Carrie Blankenship slide into eighth with a time of 12:56.57 in the steeplechase. Senior Livia Mahaffie notched a time of 1:05.86 in the 400m hurdles to sit second in the region along with fifth in the steeplechase with a time of 11:55.52.

The 4x100m relay team of Ford, Icess Booker, Taliqua Medley and Brown set a new personal best in the event by breaking the school record with a time of 47.88 seconds to hold the second fastest time in the region, while the 4x400m relay team of Booker, Mahaffie, Janay Moore and Brown ran a time of 4:08.41 for the fastest time this season to hold a sixth place ranking overall.

The women's track and field team has concluded their season with a select few athletes continuing competition at Campbell Irwin Belk Open on April 28.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is the non-profit professional organization that represents men's and women's cross country and track & field coaches in the United States. The organization represents over 8,000 coaching members, including 91% of NCAA coaches. USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches' interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.