Blackbirds Shine at Duke Invitational

4/7/07 -- Tavia Burke (St. Catherine, Jamaica) took second in the 100-meter hurdles and Aisha Thomas (Jefferson City, Mo.) finished fourth in the 100-meter dash and fifth in the 400-meter dash to headline the Long Island University outdoor track and field team’s appearance at the Duke Invitational. Burke ran to a time of 14.41 in the 100-meter hurdles while Thomas finished the 100-meter dash at 12.23. Thomas also crossed the line in the 500-meter event at 57.37.

Also in the 500-meter dash, teammates Crystal Strachan (Grand Bahama, Bahamas) and Crista Strachan (Grand Bahama, Bahamas) placed ninth (58.14) and 25th (1:00.97), respectively. Burke placed 19th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.98.

Senior Shaneqwa Warren (Roselle, N.J.) finished 14th in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.96. Freshman Aniecia Williams (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) finished 22nd in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:16.64. In the same race, junior Leslie Conley (Baltimore, Md.) placed 27th (2:17.13) and sophomore Denele DeVerteuil (Arima, Trinidad and Tobago) finished 35th (2:20.95).

Sophomore Heather Patton (Bowie, Md.) had a strong performance in the field events, taking third in the triple jump with a leap of 11.96 meters. She also placed 19th in the long jump (5.22 meters) and 25th in the high jump (1.55 meters). Junior Shelby Heggie (Laramie, Wyo.) finished 10th in the high jump with a mark of 1.65 meters.

On the men’s side, freshman Norman Simms (Upper Marlboro, Md.) placed eighth in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 22.20. Senior Micah Nation (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished 14th in the same event with a time of 22.53. Senior De Wayne Jolly (Gaithersburg, Md.) placed 13th in the triple jump with a mark of 13.16 meters.

Full results can be found by clicking here.