May 26, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Senior Richard Lowe qualified for the final round of the NCAA Regional preliminary event in the 400m hurdles and several other Tiger athletes turned in fine performances on the first day of the preliminary competition.

Lowe finished second in the fourth heat of the 400m hurdles, just behind Pittsburgh's Jermaine Lowery. Overall, Lowe enters the finals in eighth place after his 51.79 run.

Freshman Brandon Williams finished just out of contention, with his 52.85 mark putting him at 27th in a field that takes 24 athletes into the finals. Williams finished fifth among freshmen.

Senior Nick Harold also finished up his Memphis career, finishing 34th overall with a 53.02 mark in the 400 hurdles.

In earlier women's hurdles action, senior Tayanna Simpson finished 47th in the 400m event, with a 1:03.50 mark. While not moving on to the next round of qualifying, Simpson will have one more chance, tomorrow, at 3:30 p.m. (CT) when she attempts to move ahead in qualifying for the 100m hurdles.

Senior LaShundra Kershaw, the other Tiger athlete to qualify for two events, is also down to one more in her collegiate career. She did not advance in the 100m dash, but will compete in the 200m event, tomorrow, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (CT). In today's action, Kershaw finished 33rd following an 11.84 run.

Only one Tiger field athlete was in action on Thursday, in the form of redshirt freshman Tom Willcox. The Vancouver native finished 35th in the shot put, tossing a 16.19m (53' 1.50") mark in his first career Regional competition.

The Tigers will have a full day tomorrow, beginning at noon with both the women's shot put and women's high jump events scheduled to begin simultaneously. In all, eight athletes will compete on the day, with a full schedule below. Check gotigersgo.com and the Memphis track and field Facebook page for details and updates throughout the day.

• 12:00 p.m. - Women's Shot Put (Marina Vojinovic)

• 12:00 p.m. - Women's High Jump (Kirsten Berding)

• 3:30 p.m. - Women's 100m Hurdles (Simpson)

• 4:00 p.m. - Men's 110m Hurdles (Robert Jackson)

• 5:00 p.m. - Men's Triple Jump (Jerome Leslie)

• 5:00 p.m. - Men's Pole Vault (Austin Crenshaw)

• 6:15 p.m. - Men's 400m Hurdles Final (Lowe)

• 6:30 p.m. - Women's 200m Dash (Kershaw)