The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Dowie, Okolo, 4x100m relay advance for Women's Track at NCAA Outdoor Championships
06.05.2013 | Track & Field / Cross Country w, Track & Field / Cross Country
June 5, 2013
Wednesday Results | NCAA Championships Meet Information | Meet Schedule | Live Results | Texas Meet Preview | Texas Meet Notes
EUGENE, Ore. - The Texas Women's Track & Field team kicked off the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday, advancing to three event finals at Hayward Field.
Danielle Dowie (400-meter hurdles), Courtney Okolo (400m) and the UT 4x100m relay squad of Morgan Snow, Dowie, Briana Nelson and Chalonda Goodman will all race in their respective event finals on Friday and Saturday.
The 4x100m relay jump-started the running events portion of the day on Wednesday. Running in the second of three semifinal heats, the Longhorns crossed the finish line in 44.54 seconds for third in their section and qualified seventh overall on time.
"We had some issues with the handoffs today, but we have it and it's just a matter of getting it right when it counts," Dowie said. "If we trust each other and just run, we definitely have what it takes to finish top-four."
"In the 4x100, everyone is fast at NCAAs and has similar splits, so it really comes down to the handoffs," Snow added. "Each one of us is moving faster individually, and we know we are capable of much more, so we're looking forward to that in the final."
Okolo followed two events later in the 400m, entering the semifinals as the sixth seed and with the second-fastest time in the second heat out of the quarterfinal. The freshman ran a 52.05, one-hundredth of a second off the personal best she set at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, finishing third in her heat and earning the advance on time.
Nelson also competed in the 400 semifinals and notched a 52.31, her outdoor collegiate best. The junior placed ninth, the highest finish of her career at NCAA Outdoors.
Dowie finished UT's day of finals qualification in the 400m hurdles. The junior earned a spot in her second NCAA final in the event after finishing sixth at the 2012 national outdoor meet. Dowie came from behind down the final stretch to finish second and pick up the automatic advance with a time of 57.40.
"Technically, my race was awful. I did not execute at all," Dowie said. "I was doing really well in my warm-ups and in my race it was like I ignored the hurdles. In order to do as well as I'm capable of in the final, I have to fix that technical aspect. I didn't do that today and I was really disappointed. But it's on to the next race, the 4x400 (relay) tomorrow, so that's my focus for right now."
The 400m and 400m hurdles finals will both be contested on Friday, while the 4x100m relay will be the first running event on Saturday.
The Longhorns' schedule on Thursday will include a trio of semifinals. Goodman will race in the 200m at 6 p.m. Central, Snow will compete in the in the 100m hurdles at 7:05 p.m. Central and UT's 4x400m relay of Dowie, Nelson, Okolo and Kendra Chambers at 8:20 p.m. Central.
TEXAS RESULTS - NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 | Q - automatically advanced | q - advanced on time | * - denotes collegiate best
SEMIFINALS
4x100m relay
7. TEXAS (M. Snow, D. Dowie, B. Nelson, C. Goodman), 44.54q
400m
7. Courtney Okolo, 52.05q
9. Briana Nelson, 52.31*
400m hurdles
5. Danielle Dowie, 57.40Q
100m
19. Chalonda Goodman, 11.46
