BATON ROUGE, La. - UNLV sprinters Nickeisha Charles (Arima, Trinidad) and Michele Davis (Lansing, Mich.) both advanced to the finals of the 400 meters on the second day of the 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Track and Field Championships held Thursday at Bernie Moore Stadium.
In heat one, Charles set a new career and season best in the event with a time of 52.33 seconds, the fourth fastest time of the day. Davis, competing in heat two, also clocked in a career and season best with a time of 52.37 seconds. The two-time NCAA All-American made the final cut for Saturday's finals in eighth.
South Carolina's Demetria Washington led all 20 preliminary qualifiers with a time of 51.51. The top eight finishers in each event will earn All-American honors.
In the preliminaries of the 4x400 meter relay, the Rebels' top foursome of Davis, Charles and sophomore Christine Spence (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and junior Chantel Yates (Chattanooga, Tenn.) moved on to Saturday's finals with an eighth-place and season best time of 3:33.21.
UNLV will not compete in individual events tomorrow, but returns to action on Saturday, June 1, in the finals of the 400 meters at 5:30 p.m. and the finals of the 4x400 meter relay at 7:35 p.m.
NCAA Division I 2002 Outdoor - 5/29/2002 to 6/1/2002
Track & Field Championship
Baton Rouge, LA
Event 23 Women 400 Meter Dash
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American: 48.83 8/6/1984 Valerie Brisco, World Class AC
College Best: 49.91 8/6/1984 Marita Payne, Florida State
NCAA Meet: 50.18 6/1/1989 Pauline Davis, Alabama
Bernie Moore: 50.90 1987 Lilli Leatherwood, Alabama
Name Year School Prelims H#
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Preliminaries
1 Demetria Washington SR South Carolina 51.51Q 3
2 Allison Beckford SO Rice 51.57Q 4
3 Leshinda Demus FR South Carolina 51.78Q 2
4 Nickeisha Charles SR Nevada-Las Vegas 52.33Q 1
5 Melisa Barber SR South Carolina 52.01q 3
6 Ronette Smith SR Louisiana State 52.17q 4
7 Monique Henderson FR UCLA 52.36q 1
8 Michele Davis JR Nevada-Las Vegas 52.37q 2
9 Tonette Dyer SO San Diego State 52.41q 1
10 Liz Grow SR Notre Dame 52.50 3
11 Lesley Owusu SR Nebraska 52.55 2
12 Oluyemi Fagbamila JR Texas-El Paso 52.56 1
13 Nakiya Johnson JR Southern California 52.60 2
14 Barbara Petrahn SR Baylor 52.97 4
15 Tia Trent SR Indiana 53.33 4
16 Naleya Downer JR Texas 53.34 3
17 Edi Ntuen SR North Carolina 53.63 4
18 Adia McKinnon SO UCLA 54.21 2
19 Marie Woodward JR Georgia 54.46 3
20 Courtnie Ratliff JR Houston 54.49 1
Event 32 Women 4x400 Meter Relay
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American: 3:15.51 10/1/1988 Olympic Team
College Best: 3:27.08 6/5/1999 Texas
NCAA Meet: 3:27.08 6/5/1999 Texas
Bernie Moore: 3:28.93 1987 USC
School Prelims H#
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Preliminaries
1 UCLA 3:28.58Q 1
1) Bunmi Ogunleye SR 2) Adia McKinnon SO
3) Sheena Johnson SO 4) Monique Henderson FR
2 South Carolina 3:30.49Q 2
1) Mechelle Lewis SR 2) Shevon Stoddart FR
3) Tiffany Ross FR 4) Demetria Washington SR
3 Texas 3:28.73Q 1
1) Alyssa Aiken SO 2) Naleya Downer JR
3) Raasin McIntosh SO 4) Moushaumi Robinson JR
4 Southern California 3:31.86Q 2
1) Natasha Neal SR 2) Kinshasa Davis SR
3) Aleksandra Pieluzek JR 4) Nakiya Johnson JR
5 Baylor 3:30.99q 1
1) Tiffany Wise SO 2) Chava Demart SR
3) Danielle Myricks FR 4) Barbara Petrahn SR
6 Tennessee 3:32.09q 1
1) Antoinette Gorham FR 2) Nicole Cook FR
3) Kameisha Bennett JR 4) Dee Dee Trotter FR
7 Miami 3:32.58q 2
1) Saraque Whittaker JR 2) Jamillah Wade JR
3) Jenise Winston SR 4) Kitoya Carter SO
8 Nevada-Las Vegas 3:33.21q 1
1) Chantel Yates SO 2) Christine Spence SO
3) Nickeisha Charles SR 4) Michele Davis JR
9 Notre Dame 3:33.34q 2
1) Liz Grow SR 2) Kristen Dodd SO
3) Alesha Boyd SO 4) Kymia Love JR
10 Georgia 3:33.83 1
1) Aisha Tull SR 2) Traci Boyd JR
3) Samantha Murillo FR 4) Marie Woodward JR
11 Seton Hall 3:34.53 2
1) Danielle Bailey FR 2) Nolle Graham SR
3) Leah Grant JR 4) Henrieta George SO
12 Texas Tech 3:36.53 2
1) Rachelle Evans SO 2) LaDonna Begelton FR
3) Melonie Barrow SR 4) Licretia Sibley FR
