BOSTON, Mass. – Four North Carolina A&T track and field athletes competed at the 2015 USATF Indoor Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center over the weekend.
Senior Desmond Lawrence and sophomore Maurice Eaddy both competed in the men's 60 meters while senior Keenan Smith competed in the triple jump and sophomore Frank Quarles competed in the long jump.
Quarles finished sixth overall at 23-feet, 11 ½ inches on Saturday. Quarles is tied for 19th in the nation at 25-feet, 2 inches. Lawrence and Eaddy both competed in the 60 preliminary round on Sunday, where Lawrence ran a personal-best 6.60 to finish third, qualifying for the final. Eaddy failed to qualify, running a 6.76 to miss the final by three positions.
In the final, Lawrence sprinted to a sixth-place finish with a time of 6.64. Lawrence is ranked 11th in the nation in the 60. The next possible step for Lawrence could be the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., March 13-15. Lawrence should know whether he qualified on Monday, March 2.
Smith jumped 47-feet, 3 ¾ inches in the men's triple jump to place 10th overall. He is tied for the 18th in the nation with his 52-feet, 2 ½ inch jump at the 2015 Armory Track Invitational.
“It was a great competition for us,” said Duane Ross, director of track and field programs. “Desmond continues to improve every time he steps on the track. Although, Maurice, Keenan, and Frank wanted to do better; they competed well under the pressure and this experience will benefit them later.”
