Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Days after finishing just one spot out of automatically qualifying for the NCAA Track and Field Championships, Campbell senior Alicia Valtin earned an at-large spot in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the national meet the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.

“We are really happy and proud for her,” Campbell distance coach Ken Frenette said. “She has had a stellar five years here both athletically and academically and I can’t think of a better way for her to end it than with a chance for a national championship.”

Valtin finished sixth at the NCAA East Regional Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla., but posted the best non-qualifying time at any of the four regional meets across the country. She broke her own school record crossing in 10:14.63 breaking her previous mark of 10:24.72, which she set at the Penn Relays on April 26.

Valtin’s quest for a title also begins on June 6 with the prelims set for 8:25 p.m. The finals are schedule for Friday, June 8 at 7:25 p.m.

Jacksonville sophomore Janel Grooms has also extended her season for another week as she received an at-large invitation for the 400-meter hurdles at NCAA Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif..

At the NCAA East Regional, Grooms broke the school record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.37 in the preliminaries to earn the sixth seed in the finals. Grooms struggled late in the finals with a time of 59.04 to finish eighth, but after the dust settled her preliminary time ranked 21st nationally which earned her an invitation to the NCAA Championships on June 6th.

Grooms will join fellow sophomore Natasha Harvey at the NCAA Championships.

"Sending two student-athletes to the NCAA Championships from Jacksonville University is a significant accomplishment," said JU head coach Ron Grigg. "Natasha as an All America athlete is a veteran of this level of competition. Janel has seen her talent mature and the confidence in her ability has grown tremendously this season. These two women, both sophomores, will be the leaders of our team as we continue to move the program in an exciting direction."

Grooms enters her first NCAA Championship after a stellar sophomore campaign. In the outdoor season, she rewrote the record books in the 400-meter dash, 400-meter hurdles and 800- meter dash. She earned Atlantic Sun Conference "Most Outstanding Track Performer" honors at the outdoor championships by winning the 400-meter (1:00.36) and 400-meter hurdles (58.37) to help JU earn its second straight title.

information courtesy of Campbell Sports Information, Jacksonville Sports Information, and the NCAA