EUGENE, Oregon -- Durham native Desmond Lawrence qualified for the NCAA 100 meter national
championship final on Wednesday by running a personal-best 10.12 in the
semifinal to finish tied for third.
By earning a spot in the finals, Lawrence has
earned first-team All-American honors. He is the first Aggie to earn first-team
All-American honors in the 100 meters.
“We have a motto on this team,” said Duane
Ross, A&T’s director of track and field programs. “It’s either feast or
famine. After that we’ll take whatever we get. But at this point, it’s all or
nothing. We’re going out here to try to win it.”
Lawrence will compete for a national
championship in the 100 Friday night at 8. If he wins, Lawrence will become the
Aggies' first-ever national champion. Lawrence finished third behind in his heat
behind Baylor's Trayvon Bromwell (9.92) and USC's Aaron Brown
(10.10).
“My preparation for the race was good, so I
felt good coming into the race” said Lawrence. “The competition here helps me a
lot. Once you get out into your drive phase, the guys to each side of you are
going to push you to run faster. It gets pretty intense pretty fast.”
Lawrence led the race for the first 60 meters
before Bromwell made his move into the lead. Ross said Lawrence showed his
majority by putting together an excellent strategy for trying to win the
race.
“He needs to stand taller, stay in his lane
like he did today and just compete for a title,” said Ross about winning on
Friday. “When you are at regionals and nationals, all you do is compete because
the competition is so good.”
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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