JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The margin could have hardly been closer Thursday for Northwestern State sophomore Consuela Lindsay, who advanced to Friday's regional finals in the 400 meter hurdles at the NCAA Track and Field East Prelims, while the outcome was bittersweet for Lady Demon freshman javelin thrower Ashley Aldredge.
Lindsay squeaked into what is also the national quarterfinals with a 1:00.021 time, snagging the 27th and final qualifying spot by 0.007 over the 1:00.028 by Amber Adams of South Carolina.
Aldredge made the cut from 48 East regional qualifiers down to 16 finalists, getting the 16th spot by an inch with a 141-9 mark on her first throw. She improved by a foot on her opening try in the finals, but did not move up in place, settling for 16th and falling shy of one of the 12 berths into the national semifinals in two weeks at Des Moines, Iowa.
Along with Lindsay trying to be one of the 12 fastest among three nine-woman quarterfinals Friday night at 7:45 EST, just 15 minutes later Demon sprinter Kendal Taylor hits the track. The junior will hope to run to his No. 17 seeding (a 20.76 time) and be among the 27 from the 48-man field in the opening round of the men's 200 meter dash to reach Saturday night's regional final/national quarterfinal.
Competing with a painful nerve problem in her right (throwing) forearm, Aldredge fouled on four of six throws and had her shortest mark (142-9 on her first of three tries in the finals) of the season. It would have taken 148-0 to finish 12th. She had topped that in every meet this year, including her winning mark in the Southland Conference Championships two weeks earlier.
“Her fouls were out of bounds, and they were far enough to make the top 10, let alone the top 12,” said Lady Demon head coach Mike Heimerman. “She couldn't hold the javelin back where she normally does because of the pain. She couldn't stretch it, open up, and get the javelin more toward the center. She was very, very close to getting some of those good throws in bounds, just inches away on one. It was no lack of effort. She gave it all she could and ends up 16th.
“This season was very good from a big picture view for Ashley, but it ended one meet too soon. She worked so hard, and is obviously one of the better throwers in the country (14th nationally with her 166-0 season's best, which would have won Thursday's competition), and nobody tried harder today. Now we can get her healthy and start working toward getting to the nationals next year,” he said.
A painful twinge came very close to ending Lindsay's season, too.
“She came out of the blocks a little tentative because she felt her hamstring tweak, and then she hit the second hurdle. She gave everybody 100 to 130 meters head start, basically, and then ran more aggressively and came across just fast enough,” he said. “I don't think she'll have that same problem again Friday night.”
Lindsay will anchor the Lady Demons' 4x400 meter relay squad Saturday night.
Taylor will also run Saturday on the Demons' 4x100 meter relay.