Troy University Athletics
McKenzie NCAA Championships Bound
5/29/2010 11:00:00 PM | Track & Field
McKenzie, who ran the second-fastest time in the preliminary round, finished fifth overall in the quarterfinal race with a time of 13.69 seconds. He was running in the third heat, finishing third in a heat that produced three of the top five teams in the quarterfinal race. The heat that McKenzie participated in, also produced five of the 12 runners who advanced to the NCAA Championships.
The senior finished behind region champion, Johnny Dutch of South Carolina (13.53), Cory Nelms of Miami (13.65), Domonick Sylve (13.67) and Barrett Nugent of LSU (13.67).
"Today's race was a very aggressive and close race," Troy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jill Lancaster said. "This was the most competitive race that Leo has ever been in, including last year at the NCAA Championships because he was in the mix. It was a great race to lead into nationals, with him running his best two times of the year in just his second meet of the season."
The senior will be making his second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships, and joins teammate Lamontrey Stamper at the event. Stamper qualified for the NCAA Championships in the long jump on Thursday afternoon.
The men's 4x100-meter relay team solidified themselves as the second-fastest team in school history, finished just 0.13 seconds out of qualifying for the NCAA Championships on Saturday evening. The team ran a time of 39.90 seconds against some of the nation's best teams, finishing just behind Alabama for the final spot as they were the third team out overall.
"We represented well in the relay," Lancaster said. "We gained valuable experience at this meet, and have everyone returning off this team with the exception of Burke (Leonce). Saying that, however, we have Stanley (Arukwe) that we are going to be able to drop into that spot as he was the alternate this season. "
The team of Neko Freeman, Payton McGhee, Antonio McLeod and Burke Leonce finished just behind Alabama at 39.77 seconds, WKU at 39.85 seconds and Louisiana Tech at 39.86 seconds. The winning team in the region was posted by the University of Florida at 38.81 seconds.
"This is the most depth in the sprint group we have had since I have been here," Lancaster said. "We were able to get four into the 100-meters this season, which was the most of any team at the East Region Meet."
Meanwhile, senior Tiphanie Baker closed out her career with a throw of 46.52 meters (152-07.00) in the discus. She was able to convert that throw on her first attempt before fouling on her last two attempts to miss the finals by just two meters (six feet).
Stamper and McKenzie will begin training for the NCAA Championships which begin the second week of June in Eugene, Oregon; while several other student-athletes will return to campus to start training for the US Junior Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa later this summer.
