KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

EUGENE, ORE.  ? Indiana State senior Erica Moore (Sullivan, Ind.) raced her way into the finals of the women's 400 meter hurdles on the opening day of the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, recording the sixth fastest time in the semifinals Wednesday.

Moore competed in the first of three heats of the 400 meter hurdles, a heat that turned out to be the fastest of the three. The Sycamore got off to a slow start but came on strong at the 200 meter mark and pulled away to finish third in the heat with a time of 57.25.

“It was obviously a great effort by Erica,” John McNichols, Indiana State cross country and track & field coordinator said. “The wind really hit the competitors coming out of the final turn and that slowed the race down. I think that Erica's 800 meter experience and her conditioning really helped her in the final 100 meters.”

Queen Quedith Harrison, a senior from Virginia Tech, won the opening heat in 55.35 with Texas sophomore Angele Cooper second in 56.24. Miami (Florida) took the two automatic qualifying spots out of the second heat with junior Ti'erra Brown winning the second heat in 56.02 and junior teammate Tameka Jameson second in 57.16. The two automatic berths out of the third heat went to Penn State senior Fawn Door, who won in 56.16, and Miami (Florida) junior Takecia Jameson, who was second in 57.58.

Both of the runners who qualified on time came from the first heat led by Moore with her third place finish in 57.25. Arizona State junior Jasmine Chaney was fourth in 57.71.

The finals of the 400 meter hurdles will be held at 8:15 p.m. (ET) Friday.

Indiana State senior Lauren Martin will compete in the women's triple jump starting at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday while senior Kylie Hutson competes in the women's pole vault starting at 7 p.m. (ET) Friday and junior Major Clay competes in the men's high jump starting at 6:30 p.m. (ET) Friday.

Live results and live streaming are available at the NCAA Championship web site: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/c-otrack/champpage/c-otrack-div1-index.html