Lady Braves Move Two Spots To Seventh In USTFCCCA Region Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – Following competition at the Wofford College Terrier Relays and opening the region rankings in ninth place, the UNCP women's track and field team continued momentum by moving two spots into seventh in the region rankings announced by United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.

Leading the region is Mount Olive in first followed by Columbus State, King, 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, Jazmiene Brown and Taliqua Medley each posted personal best in their events during the week to rank eighth individually in the region. Ford ran the 100m dash in a time of 12.76 seconds, while Brown ran the 200m dash in 25.89 seconds for an eighth place ranking and Medley grabbed a time of 16.40 seconds in the 100m hurdles.

Junior Diricka Mitchell individually ranks eighth in the shot put with a mark of 11.00m. Freshman Hana Metzinger ranks third and sixth in the discus throw and javelin, respectively. Metzinger posted personal bests in the discus with a mark of 39.21m and in the javelin with a throw of 34.18m.

The 4x100m relay team of Ford, Icess Booker, Medley and Brown competed for the first time this season and posted a time of 49.05 seconds to rank fourth in the region, while the 4x400m relay team of Brown, Janay Moore, Ford and Livia Mahaffie registered a season best time of 4:09.25 to rank sixth overall.

The Lady Braves will compete again on Friday and Saturday when the squad travels to Charlotte, N.C., for the Johnson C. Smith Invitational.

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.