ETSU sophomore finishes 30th in 400mH

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 28, 2015) – ETSU sophomore Mike Williams (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) saw his track and field season come to an end on Thursday evening at the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminary. 

Needing to finish 24th or better to advance into Friday’s quarterfinal of the 400mH, Williams clocked in at 52.13, placing him 30th in the 48-man field at North Florida’s Hodges Stadium. 

“Mike ran a solid race today, but came up a little short to advance into the quarterfinal,” said ETSU track and field head coach George Watts. “He had strong year running a personal best to win the conference championship and qualifying to regionals for a second straight year. I told Mike the expectations will be much higher next year, as he has the ability to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Overall, I'm pleased with his progress.”

LSU’s Quincy Downing, who was in Williams’ heat, posted the top time in the first round of the event as he finished with a mark of 50.35, while Lemaar Shakir of Savannah State was the final hurdler to qualify for the quarterfinal. Shakir finished in 51.99. 

ETSU still has two athletes remaining in the Regional as senior Dede Edgecombe (Spartanburg, S.C.) and sophomore Brett Squibbs (Rock Hill, S.C.) will be in action on Friday in the River City. Squibbs will be competing in the pole vault at 4:30 p.m., while Edgecombe will look to advance out of the first round of the 100mH at 5 p.m.   

Live scoring from the NCAA East Prelim will be available through NCAA.com or by clicking here. 

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