Greensboro, N.C. (May 29, 2009) --- Delaware State's Donte Holmes has qualified for the final in the 800-meter run, while Leslie Murray advanced to the final in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2009 NCAA East Regional Outdoor Track & Field Championships this evening.
Holmes finished second among the eight qualifiers for Saturday's final with a time of 1:49.15, trailing only Robert Novak of Seton Hall (1:48.56). A sophomore, Holmes is attempting to reach the NCAA National Championships for the second straight year.
Murray was clocked at 50.71 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles, fifth-best among the qualifiers.
Delaware State's 1600-meter relay team automatically qualified for Saturday's East Region final. The team of Holmes, Murray, Burton Clarke and Larrone Moore has the nation's 10th-best performance this outdoor season, posting a time of 3:05.80 at the Penn Relays last month. The top three finishers in the East Region relay will advance to the NCAA Nationals.
Holmes and Murray also qualified for the NCAA East Regional in the 400-meter dash, but each opted out to focus on their other events this weekend.
Also today, Moore came up short in his bid to advance to the East Region final in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, finishing outside the top eight in each event. He posted a time of 10.70 seconds in the 100, 24th in the qualifying round, and was clocked at 21.34 in the 200, 16th-best in the opening round.
In the women's competition, Delaware State's Nekisha Franklin finished outside the top eight in the East Region 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Franklin was 12th in the qualifying round in the 100 with a time of 11.73 seconds, and 15th among competitors in the 200, clocking in at 24.14 seconds.
The NCAA National Championships are set for June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
