Lincoln athletes move on at NCAA outdoor meet

ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Lincoln men and woment qualified for several finals after preliminary action in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday.

On the women's side, Lincoln had the top qualifying time in the 4x100-meter relay, as Judith Riley, Yanique Ellington, Janae Johnson and Kimberly Bailey finished in 45.29.

Two Blue Tigers qualified for the final of the 400-meter dash, as Donna-Lee Hylton was fifth in 54.23 and Tamara Keane was eighth in 54.70. Their teammate, Willomena Williams, finished 19th in 56.66 and did not advance.

Lincoln also got two into the final of the 100-meter dash, as Johnson had the second-best time of 11.36 in prelims and Ellington was fourth-best in 11.40.

Keane qualified for the final of the 400-meter hurdles, coming in third in 1:00.02. But two teammates did not advance, as Juneille Barker was 14th (1:01.54) and Ladonna Richards did not finish.

In Lincoln's only final event of the day, Nickiesha Beaumont finished 12th in the long jump (19-31/4).

Grand Valley State leads after the first day with 21 points, while Ashland is second with 14 and Central Missouri is third with 10. Lincoln has not yet scored, as just two of 21 events are complete.

Central Missouri's Erin Alewine (Jefferson City High School) is in 13th place after the first day of the heptathlon. She has 2,905 points, 379 back of 3,284 put up by the the leader, Alewine's teammate Madison Smith.

Alewine was third in the high jump (5-7), 14th in the 200-meter dash (26.48), tied for 15th in the 100-meter hurdles (15.04) and 16th in the shot put (29-23/4). The remaining events today are the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run.

On the men's side, Lincoln's Orneldo Thomas took seventh in the long jump, posting a mark of 24-51/2.

The Blue Tigers qualified for the final in the 4x100-meter relay, posting the third-best time by finishing in 40.50. The team was made up of Wesley Best, Romel Lewis, Michael Ashley and Romone Hill.

Lewis had the third-best time in the prelims of the 100-meter dash, advancing to the final in 10.21, while Hill came in fifth in 10.36 and also advanced.

Lewis also moved on in the 400-meter hurdles, as his time of 52.10 was the eighth-best in the prelims.

Two Blue Tigers did not qualify for the finals of the 400-meter dash, as Ashley finished 13th in the prelims in 47.69 and Roger Blake was 22nd in 49.38.

After three of 21 events scored, Lincoln is in a tie for 17th place with two points. Adams State leads with 15, while three others are tied for second with 10.