Dover (May 28, 2009) ? More than three weeks after the season ended for most of their teammates, six members of Delaware State's outdoor track and field teams are still competing.
Five Hornet men and one woman are gearing up for the 2009 NCAA Division I East Regional Championships this weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina. Qualifying begins on Friday, with the finals set for Saturday at North Carolina A&T State University's Irwin Belk Track.
Delaware State will have entries in a school-record six events in the men's competition.
The Hornets will complete in the NCAA East Regional in the 1600-meter relay. The DSU team of Larrone Moore, Burton Clarke, Leslie Murray and Donte Homes has the 10th-best 1600-meter relay time in the nation this outdoor season, clocking in at a school-record 3:05.80 at the Penn Relays on April 25.
Murray, Moore and Holmes will also compete in two individual East Regional events.
Murray has qualified in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash. He has the nation's 13th-best performance in the 400 hurdles this season when he posted a time of 50.54 seconds to win the MEAC championship May 2. His 400-meter dash time of 46.41 seconds in the MEAC championships is 39th in the nation.
Moore will vie for East Regional championships in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash.
His MEAC Championship time of 20.75 seconds in the 200-meter dash ranks 19th in Division I this season, while he has the 35th fastest time in the 100-meter dash, 10.39 seconds, also at the conference championship meet.
Holmes has qualified for the East Regional in the 800-meter run and 400-meter dash. As a freshman in 2008, he advanced beyond the East region to the NCAA National Championship competition in the 800. In addition to being a two-time MEAC Outdoor 800-meter champion, the Hyattsville, Md., native competed in the 2008 U.S. Junior Nationals and World Junior Games.
Brycen Davis is an alternate on the 1600-meter relay team.
Nekisha Franklin will represent Delaware State's women at the NCAA East Regional for the fourth consecutive year.
Franklin will compete in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. She sprinted into the NCAAs with a time of 11.62 seconds to capture the MEAC Championship in the 100 earlier this month. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also qualified for the NCAA regional in the 200 with a time of 23.59 at the MEAC championships.
The top five individual finishers and three relay teams from each region will advance to the 2009 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
