Akilah Lewis and her Ole Miss University teanmates raced to the women's 4x100 metres relay title on the final day of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One Outdoor Track and Field Champioinships in Eugene, Oregon, USA on Saturday.
Ole Miss topped the field in 42.34 seconds. The winning time was shy of the school's record of 42.22 the quartet set in the preliminaries on Thursday. Lewis, who competes for local club Concorde, ran the lead-off leg. The other team members were McKenna Long, Gabrielle Matthews and Jahniya Bowers. Long was the stand-out performer at the meet as she also on the 100m (10.82) and 200m (21.83l sprint titles.
In the 100m finals, T&T's Leah Bertrand was seventh in 11.05 seconds. Her time was her fastest ever. However, the wind reading of 2.2 m/s was just over the legal limit of 2.0m/s.
On Friday, Shakeem McKay (Abilene Wildcats) and his Louisiana State University team was seventh in the men's 4x400m relay finals in 3:01.57. McKay ran the second leg and recorded a split of 44.99. Texas student Kelsey Daniel (Kaizen Panthers) fouled his only attempt in the men's triple jump finals.
Ole Miss was fifth in the women's overall standings with 38 points. Texas State which features Taejha Badal was 27th (10) while Ohio State ended in 45th (4). Arkansas was first (83) with Florida in second (59) and Texas third (41).
In the men's division, Texas was third (20), with LSU in 16th (17). Minnesota (Devin Augustine) was down the field in 37th (9).
Results
Friday
Triple jump Finals: foul Kelsey Daniel (Texas/Kaizen Panthers)
4x400m Finals: 7th Lousiana State (Sakeem McKay/Abilene Wildcats) 3:01.57 (44.99 split)
Saturday
Women
Finals
4x100m: 1st Ole Miss (Akilah Lewis/Concorde) 42.34
100m : 7th Leah Bertrand (Ohio State/Simplex) 11.05 (+2.2)
Team standings
Women's: 1st Arkansas 83; 2nd Florida 59; 3rd Texas 41; 5th Ole Mss 38; 10th USC 25; 27th Texas State 10; 45th Ohio State 4
Men's: 1st Florida 41; 2nd Auburn 40; 3rd USC 33; 12th Texas 20; 16th LSU 17; 37th Minnesota 9
