Edmonds, Murray Spark Falcons To Third-Place Tie In D-II Track Championships

PUEBLO, Colorado – Led by Josh Edmonds (Soph./Jacksonville, Fla.) and Ty'reak Murray (Soph./Portsmouth, Va.), the Saint Augustine's College men tied for third in the 2012 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships late Saturday (May 26, 2012) at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl on the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus.

Edmonds claimed the 200 meter dash and was the anchor runner on the winning men's 4x400 meter relay team while Murray won the 110 meter hurdles for the Falcons, who tied Western State with 54 points. Adams State outscored Lincoln (Mo.) 77-73 for its first team outdoor title. Adams State joined Saint Augustine's College and Abilene Christian as the only three teams to win the NCAA D-II men's outdoor crown since 1982.

On the women's side, Grand Valley State held off Lincoln (Mo.) 90-79 for its second consecutive team crown while Adams State was third with 59. The Saint Augustine's College women tied for 17th with 14 points.

The participants competed in 90-degree temperatures with fierce wind gusts as high as 30 miles per hour and more. The weather was an impact, but Edmonds and Murray withstood the winds to become national individual champions.

Edmonds entered the championship meet as the top seed in the 200, and he didn't disappoint. His blazing start led to a career-best finish of 20.28. He scored 20.5 points for the Falcons after winning the 200, placing second in the 400 (46.38) and running the anchor leg on the winning men's 4x400 relay team.

Edwards passed Akino Ming of Johnson C. Smith near the finish line to give the Falcons the 4x4 victory in a thrilling finish between the two CIAA schools. The Falcons ran a winning time of 3:07.15 and Johnson C. Smith was second in 3:07.32. The Falcons' relay squad included Kelly Fisher (Sr./Tinton Falls, N.J.), Jason Boyd (Sr./Willingboro, N.J.) and James Quarles (Soph./Washington, D.C.).

The win on the final event of the day gave the Falcons 10 points which moved them into a third-place tie with Western State. It also prevented Lincoln from tying Adams State for the national crown. Lincoln needed the win to share the men's title with Adams State. Lincoln finished third in the relay.

The 4x4 win continued a tradition of dominance for the Falcons in the event at outdoor nationals. St. Aug has won 19 national titles in the event which is by far the most in Division II.

Murray was the winner in the 110 meter hurdles in a career-best 13.60. The 10th seed in the event, Murray outran his competitors in the finals for his first national title. Gerkenz Senesca (Sr./Newark, N.J.), the top seed, finished seventh and the second-seeded Boyd was ninth.

In other races featuring St. Aug competitors, Kelly Shaw (Jr./Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) placed third in the women's 400 dash in 53.02 while Nicketa Bernard (Jr./Westmoreland, Jamaica), the 2012 NCAA indoor champion, placed ninth. The Falcons were third in the men's 4x100 meter relay in 40.67. The members of the 4x1 team were Ramaan Ansley (Jr./Philadelphia, Pa.), Quarles, Sean Stuart (Sr./Miramir, Fla.) and Murray. The women's 4x400 relay squad was second in 3:38.09. The foursome consisted of Jaiviaria Bacote (Soph./Paterson, N.J.), Bernard, Cherrisse Lynch (Fr./Bridgetown, Barbados) and Shaw.

In the men's 400 dash, Quarles was seventh. Ansley was eighth in the men's 100 dash in 10.35. DeJon Wilkinson (Soph./Summerville, S.C.) was 14th in the men's triple jump, and Andrea Powell (Sr./Richmond, Va.) tied for 16th in the women's high jump.

Ranked first in D-II entering the championship meet, the Falcons climbed up the men's standings after starting the day with five points. They scored 49 points on Saturday.

The top eight individual and relay finishers earned All-America honors. The times were wind-aided.

Women's Final Results PDF
Men's Final Results PDF
Men  Final Team Scores
Women Final Team Scores

COURTESY SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS AND USTFCCCA.org