FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ? After just missing out on qualifying for the 2007 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Indiana State women's track athlete Erica Moore got the job done this season by running a time of 2:05.77 in the 800 meter run at the Alex Wilson Invitational last weekend at Notre Dame to qualify for the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championship. Moore ran in Friday's 800 meter prelims, but fell just short of finishing in the top eight to advance to Saturday's final at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
Moore ran a time of 2:07.54 in the second heat of the 800 meter prelims, finishing fourth in her heat. However, her overall time placed her ninth in the field, which fell just short of the final spot in tomorrow's finals held by Jesse Carlin of Pennsylvania with a time of 2:07.54.
“Erica ran a very strong race and got out to a great start,” said ISU women's head coach John Gartland. “She actually led the race for about the first lap and a half and then the rest of the pack caught up with her midway through the race. Towards the end, the whole group was extremely tight and running close together and unfortunately for Erica she kind of got squeezed out and just missed out on the finals. I was really proud of the way she competed today and hopefully she can use this experience to build towards the outdoor season.
Latavia Thomas of LSU was the top qualifier with a time of 2:06.30, followed by Geena Gall of Michigan at 2:07.36. Alysia Johnson of California was third with a time of 2:06.48 followed by Heather Dorniden of Minnesota (2:07.42) and Becky Horn of Western Michigan (2:06.67). Trisa Nickoley of Missouri (2:06.89), Lavera Morris of Kentucky (2:06.98) and Carlin round out the field for tomorrow's finals.
“The key for me when running the 800 is to just stay relaxed,” said Moore. “When I got out in front and was leading for a while, I got kind of nervous and I think it affected me a bit. In a race like that, whoever is leading usually has to do a lot more work than those back in the draft, so I kind of held up a bit and the pack caught me. Then, when the pack caught up, I kind of got knocked around a bit and just didn't have enough kick at the end.”
By missing out on the finals the top eight, Moore just missed out on being named an All-American by the USTFCCCA. However, sophomore Kylie Hutson has also qualified for the meet this weekend and will try to vault her way to a top-eight finish on Saturday, with the women's pole vault set to take place at 6:00 p.m. EDT.
