Lady Rattlers Make Strides In Final Meet At UF O'Connell Center

GAINESVILLE, Florida (Jan. 23) – The Florida A&M Lady Rattlers had a good showing at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational today at the final event at the indoor track at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida.

One of the highlights of the meet was the performance of Ashley Ivey. Ivey won the 55 meter hurdles in 7.98 to top the collegiate division. Ivey got stronger as the meet progressed, as she qualified for the finals nearly a full second slower.

Head coach, Darlene Moore, saw many positives in the meet. “It was a privilege to be able to compete in the last event at the historic O’Connell Center. It has been a big part of the track and field scene for the last quarter century. It was good to see our young ladies put on strong performances in this last meet,” Moore said.

Ashley Giacomucci took first place in the triple jump with a leap of 11.44m (37:06.50). Battling injuries, she performed well enough to win, which should bode well for the Lady Rattlers who are preparing for the MEAC Indoor Championship.



Sprinter Jharna Alston blazed to a second place finish in 57.27 in the 400m dash. Raven Diggs finished in sixth place (59.91) and Destiny Johnson finished in seventh (59.99). Alston also posted a third place finish in the 200m dash in 24.94

Andrea Aaron placed third in the shot put with a toss of 13.54m (46:05.25).

Ivey would also take fifth in the long jump, leaping 5.50m (17:04.25), while Jharna Alston placed 10th in 4.68m (15:11.75).

Quandra Shanks finished seventh in the mile run in 5:23.33. Newcomer Fridah Limo got a ninth place finish in 5:26.31.

Distance and middle distance runner Judith Kibii raced to a second place finish in the 3000m run, with a time of 10:19.25. She also navigated to a 2:25.25 finish in the 800m dash, good for 12th place overall.

Moore was pleased with the progress the team has made at this point in the season. “We saw some good things from the young ladies, but we also saw some areas we need to concentrate on. We’ll go back to work next week to make sure we can make the best of our talents in order to compete for a MEAC championship,” Moore said.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION