Goggins Advances At USA Track Championships
June 24, 2011 | Track & Field
June 24, 2011
EUGENE, Ore. - East Carolina freshman All-America sprinter Aiesha Goggins posted a 400-meter dash time of 52.84 Thursday night at the United States Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field, advancing to the semifinal which is scheduled for Friday at 8:30 p.m.
The USA Championships serve as the selection event for the coveted spots to represent Team USA at the IAAF World Championships August 27- September 4 in Daegu, South Korea.
Goggins' time was good enough for 12th place and fourth in her heat as she qualified for the next round in the competition against a field consisting of the best collegiate and professional athletes in the nation.
The Durham, N.C., native is the second female in the East Carolina track and field program to garner All-America honors in as many seasons, as Tynita Butts was a first-team honoree last year after placing seventh nationally in the outdoor high jump. She finished 10th at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa to earn the accolade.
Goggins was just the second female runner in school history to earn a place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after Dava Rhodes competed in the 10,000-meter run in 1994. She was also part of the first-ever female relay team (4x400) in the program annals to earn a bid to nationals as that group holds the school record at 3:35.75.
Winner of both the indoor and outdoor Conference USA 400-meter dash, Goggins qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round by running a 51.94 at the league's outdoor meet. That time was the 19th-fastest in the world that week and is currently in the top 60. Additionally, she set the C-USA Indoor Championships record in February with a time of 54.15.
ECU's other current All-America, high jumper Butts, will attempt to earn her way to worlds as the event kicks off at 6:50 p.m.
