On His Own Merritt
February 06, 2005 | Men's Track and Field
Gainesville, Fla. -- Freshman LaShawn Merritt turned in the fastest 400-meter dash time in the world so far this season while also guiding the East Carolina 4x400 relay squad to NCAA provisional qualification at the Gator Invitational at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Sunday.
In addition to shattering a 14-year-old school record in the event with a time of 45.94, Merritt also earned NCAA automatic qualification status to the Division I Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., March 11-12. The performance came during Merritt's second-ever collegiate 400m event after logging a provisional qualifying time of 47.23 at the Clemson Invitational Jan. 21. He topped ECU's long-time standard of 46.19 set by Brian Irving in 1991 while also establishing a new World Indoor Junior record (18-and-under).
Merritt also teamed with B.J. Henderson, Dominick Richmond and DeAndre Hyman to earn a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay race with a time of 3:12.84 to earn provisional qualification.
Other top men's performances include a fifth-place standing by Reginald Williams in the 55-meter dash (6.43) and a pair of fourth-place finishes by Henderson in the 400 meters (47.95) and by Hector Cotto in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of a 7.39 - good enough for ICAAAA qualification. Matt Dennish logged a personal-best 4:10.96 clip in the one mile run, missing the all-time school mark by less than two seconds.
In the field events, Eric Frasur contributed a third-pace showing in the weight throw (18.60) and stood seventh in the shot put (14.73).
In the women's competition, Terri Davenport established a new career-best with a 24.94 time in the 200 meters (13th-place) while Aisha Bilal-Mack also set a new personal standard with a 58.48 time in the 400-meter dash. Jessica Collins turned in a fourth-place finish in the mile run (career-best 5:08.15) and Tara DeBrielle added a runner-up standing in the 800 meters after being clocked for a season-best 2:12.13.
The Lady Pirates' 4x400 relay unit, consisting of Davenport, DeBrielle, Portia Baker and Simone Baptist, earned ECAC qualification with a time of 3:49.77 (fourth-place).
The Pirates will utilize a split squad next week with participation at the Tyson Indoor Meet (Fayetteville, Ark.) and the Virginia Tech Challenge. The ECU's women's team will solely compete at the Blacksburg, Va., event Feb. 11-12.
TOP 10 EAST CAROLINA RESULTS (men)
55 Meter Dash
5. Reginald Williams, 6.43
400 Meter Dash
1. LaShawn Merritt, *45.94
4. B.J. Henderson, 47.95
*NCAA Automatic Qualification; school-record
55 Meter Hurdles
4. Hector Cotto, 7.39
Mile Run
5. Matt Dennish, 4:10.96
9. Kristian Jorgenson, 4:22.44
4x400 Meter Relay
3. East Carolina "A", *3:12.84
(Merritt, Henderson, Richmond, Hyman)
*NCAA Provisional Qualification
Triple Jump
9. Derrick Felton, 13.53
Shot Put
7. Eric Frasur, 14.73m
Weight Throw
3. Eric Frasur, 18.60m
7. Mayso Porch, 15.53m
TOP 10 EAST CAROLINA RESULTS (women)
Mile Run
4. Jessica Collins, 5:08.15
800 Meter Run
2. Tara DeBrielle, 2:12.13
4x400 Meter Relay
4. East Carolina "A", 3:49.77
(Baker, Baptiste, Davenport, DeBrielle)
Distance Medley Relay
4. East Carolina "A", 12:42.36
(Bilal-Mack, Collins, Flynn, Sessoms)
Pole Vault
7. Lindsey Rosales, 3.60m
9. Tammie Mentzel, 3.60m
Long Jump
10. Alisha Hopkins, 5.50m
