Wednesday, June 10, 2009

MACON, Ga. - Through regional competition, six A-Sun athletes earned the chance to compete in the NCAA Championship - Belmont's Lynette Rives in the 200-meter dash, ETSU's Heidi Dahl in 1500m, and Jacksonville's Natasaha Harvey in the long jump. Harvey competes with teammates Louise Kiernan, Unique Singleton and Danielle Davenport in the 4x100 relay.

Rives opened the day vying for a chance to move on to Nationals in the 100m. However, the Clarksville, Tenn., native fell short and took eighth in the finals of the event with a time of 11.66. An hour later, she would have an opportunity to redeem herself with another shot at a trip to Nationals within her reach. Rives, the lone senior in the 200m finals, bolted to a third place finish with a time of 23.28 (1.2) to qualify for Nationals.

The Lady Buccaneer standout, Dahl, claimed the 1500m title at the NCAA Mideast Regional inside Louisville's Cardinal Park by beating instate rival Sarah Bowman from Tennessee. Dahl, who was beaten by Bowman in the prelims, posted a first-place and Cardinal Park record of 4:22.16; while Bowman crossed the line in 4:22.68. After finishing as one of the top-5 runners, Dahl looks to become a three-time All-American at the championship.

Harvey earned an at-large invitation in the long jump, marking the fourth consecutive year she will compete in the event. The senior enters the championships as the 20th seed in the long jump, posted her longest leap of the season with a mark of 20'9" (6.32m) to take sixth in the NCAA East Regional. She finished second in the NCAA Championships last season with a leap of 21'10" (6.65m) to earn All-America honors.

She also ran fast enough in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA regionals (13.65) and the Atlantic Sun Championship (13.38) to qualify for the national meet as an at-large, but will not compete in the event because it conflicts with the long jump finals at the championships.

Harvey, along with sophomore standouts Danielle Davenport, Louise Kiernan and Unique Singleton got an at-large bid for the 4x100- meter relay. The Dolphins earned the No. 14 seed in the relay after placing fifth in the NCAA East Regional with a time of 44.62. The relay group won all five of its attempts during the regular season, including winning the conference title in the event with a meet record time of 44.82.

JU is scheduled to run in the 4x100-meter relay preliminaries on June 10 at 5 p.m., while the long jump will take place at 7:30 p.m. Rives runs the 100m preliminary on Thursday, June 11 at 6:10 p.m., while Dahl runs the 1500 at 7:55 p.m. All times are Central.

The University of Arkansas serves as the host of the championship. A total of 544 student-athletes per gender will compete in the championships. Student-athletes qualified for the championships through participation in one of four regional championship meets.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.