NMHU 4x100 Races To Top-10 National Finish

Emporia, Kansas -  The NMHU Women's 4x100 relay came up just short of qualifying for the finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Thursday in Emporia, KS. The foursome of Onanda Lowe, Patreece Clarke, Kacian Powell and Ashley Barrett finished third in their heat in 45.41, just one spot from advancing to the final.

Cowgirl head coach Bob DeVries was quick to praise his squad and assistant coach Damia Russell following Thursday's preliminary,

 "The 4x1 is always intense - one lap, pure speed, what do you have when the gun goes off? Very happy with our approach today at the championships - this squad has three freshman (Lowe, Powell , Barrett) and really only two 100 runners (Barret, Lowe) coach Russell has taken those athletes, added in a hurdler (Clarke) and a 400 runner (Powell) and molded them into a top ten 4x1 in the country. That's impressive by both the athletes and coach."

Lowe began the race with an outstanding lead-off leg, holding her own against some of the top sprinters in the country. Clarke kept the Cowgirls in the mix down the backstretch before a fall in the next lane caused a bit of disruption.

"We actually filed a protest, feeling the exchange between Patreece and Kacian was impeded when another athlete fell into our lane, but that protest was denied and we ended up just 16 hundredths out of the final," noted DeVries.

Powell ran a strong curve before handing off to Barrett. The RMAC Freshman of the Year surged down the straight, passing two teams before running out of track - narrowly missing the second qualifying spot from the heat.

"We'll build off this experience," added DeVries, "We had the youngest team in the field and we plan on being back."

Action continues on Friday with Barrett in the 200 - meter prelims and Clarke taking to the track in the 100H on Friday evening.

Live streaming is available here.