NEW ORLEANS – University of New Orleans track and field standout
Alexia Fortenberry will line up with some of the best in the country on Thursday, June 9, when the junior sprinter takes part in the women's 100-meter hurdles in the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor National Championship at the Historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
A native of nearby Harvey, Louisiana, and a 2013 graduate of West Jefferson High School advanced to the national meet after finishing 12th in the event at the NCAA East Regional with a season-best 13.18 on May 28 in Jacksonville, Florida, at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium. The women's 100 hurdles is scheduled to get underway at 7:32 p.m. (CDT) and will be broadcast live on ESPN. Coverage is also available on-line by clicking
HERE and on the WatchESPN app.
Fortenberry's time at the East Regional was just four one-hundredths of a second off her school-record mark of 13.14, established last May 10 at the Southland Conference Championship. She is the first female Privateer and just the second UNO track and field student-athlete to qualify for the national meet as Karl Saluri took part in the decathlon in 2014.
The top 12 finishers at both the NCAA East and West Regional, which took place in Lawrence, Kansas, advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Champion and the top eight finishes of the 24 invitees will run for the national title on Saturday, June 11, at 6:12 p.m.
Fortenberry is one of two of Southland Conference student-athletes to participate in the women's 100-meter hurdles in Eugene, Oregon, as Sam Houston State's Danielle Demas posted a 13.11 at the West Regional. All told the SLC has seven individuals on hand at the NCAA Championship as Lamar's Verity Ockenden will run the 5,000 meter, Northwestern State's Ashley Aldredge and Sam Houston State's Elizabeth Lyssy will compete in the in the javelin, and the duo of SHSU's Ashley Jenkins and Southeastern Louisiana's Jermisha Frazier will take part in the hammer throw.
On the men's side, Micah Larkins and Amir James of Northwestern State will run the 100-meter dash, fellow Demon Emmanuel Williams will take part in the long jump, Southeastern Louisiana's Devin King will participate in the pole vault, and the Stephen F. Austin pair of My'Lik Kerly and Charles Mathenge will run the 400 and 10,000, respectively. In addition, Northwestern State's relay team of James, Larkins, George Flaviano and Ty Shilling will be in the mix for the 4x100 while SFA's Kerley, D'Lance Sharp, Tedrick Hawkins and Will Gibson qualified in the 4x400.
--www.UNOPrivateers.com--
