St. John's University Athletics
Foster, Frederick Keep Streak Alive, Head To NCAA Regionals Friday
5/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 29, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - For the 18th consecutive outdoor season, the St. John's women's track & field team will be sending athletes to the NCAA Regional Championships this weekend.
St. John's brings experience and youth to the regional championship meet as senior Maxcine Foster and freshman Priscilla Frederick will represent the Red Storm at the 2008 NCAA East Regional, hosted by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla.
For both student-athletes, the trip to Tallahasee will be their first appearance in the NCAAs. Foster qualified for the East Regional last outdoor season, but did not compete due to injury. Frederick, a rookie on the Red Storm squad, has made an immediate impact in her debut season with St. John's.
"We're excited about going down to Florida this weekend," said head coach Jim Hurt. "Our chances of doing well and advancing to the National Championships are pretty high. Both Maxcine and Priscilla are great athletes to work with. To make it this far and be ranked in the national top 35 with more than 15,000 collegiate athletes who compete in track & field each year is very exciting. It's a great testament to them and their hard work."
To advance to the NCAA National Championships hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in mid-June, Foster and Frederick need to finish in the top five in their respective events.
Foster originally transferred from G.C. Foster College in St. Catherine, Jamaica, in 2004. She qualified for this year's East Regional earlier this month at the BIG EAST Championships on May 4. Foster's time of 53.54 was a career-best performance and earned her the 400-meter Outdoor BIG EAST individual title. Foster's time makes her No. 10 in the region and ranks her No. 31 nationally.
(cont.) The fifth-year senior has been plagued with injury over the course of her three-year career with the Red Storm. Last year, she qualified for the regional competition but because of injury, she forfeited competing in the meet to get ready for this spring. This season, she will look to top off her collegiate career by advancing to the National Championships and hopefully competing in the Jamaican Championships on June 19.
Foster's time also makes her No. 5 in the St. John's record books in the event.
The 400-meter dash preliminaries will begin at 6:05 p.m. on Friday, May 30. The top eight will advance to the finals at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, May 31. Francena McCorory, a sophomore from Hampton College, is the top seed in the east region with at time of 51.54.
Frederick will also be making her debut on the NCAA stage. The freshman from Sicklerville, N.J., has been a standout all season long, competing in five different events for the Red Storm. Frederick will be competing in her premier event, the high jump, at this weekend's competition.
The freshman hit the qualifying mark of 1.75 meters (5 feet, 8.75 inches) four times over the course of the outdoor and indoor season. In the outdoor season, Frederick first hit the qualifying height at the UNC's Tony Waldrop Invitational on April 12, finishing second in the event. She hit the height once again at the Outdoor BIG EAST Championships on May 4, finishing fifth and earning All-BIG EAST honors.
Frederick's height ranks her No. 30 nationally and makes her the No. 10 seed in the region. She is also No. 3 in the St. John's all-time record books and was the recipient of the Track & Field MVP award at the university's annual awards dinner on May 5.
The high jump event will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Senior Jillian Drouin from Syracuse has the top seed in the East Region with a height of 1.82 meters (5 feet, 11.65 inches).
For more information regarding the NCAA East Regional Outdoor Championships, visit the official athletic home page of Florida State University, the host of the East Regional Championships: www.seminoles.cstv.com.
Players Mentioned
