12 Lady T-Birds qualify for nationals

NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT

Fresh off winning the national championship in indoor track and field, the New Mexico Junior College women's team got its outdoor season underway with a bang over the weekend as the Lady Thunderbirds took part in the UTEP Springtime Meet in El Paso.

The Lady T-Birds won three events, the long jump, triple jump, and the 400 relay.

Kristal Liburd took first in both the long jump and the triple jump. Octavia Cato, Britney Hew, Trishawna Crawford, and Shian Hyde combined to run the 400 relay with a first place time of 44.99 seconds and earned a spot at nationals.

Overall, the Lady T-Birds had 12 athletes qualify for the national meet.

Liburd set a new school record in the long jump when she lept 20-feet, 7-inches and qualified her for nationals. She also qualified in the triple jump 41-4.5. Joining Liburd with a qualifying distance in the triple jump was Cathilee Mullings, who cleared 39-0.5.

Liburd wasn't the only Lady T-Bird to qualify in multiple events as Teresa Jacobs qualified in the 800-run (2 minutes, 17.76 seconds) and the 1,500 run (4:51.15). Sharon Jerono also qualified in the 1,500 run (4:54.22).

All four LadyT-Birds who qualified in the 400 relay also qualified in the 100 dash. Hyde finished with a time of 11.68 seconds while Crawford (11.82), Hew (11.86), and Cato (11.96) ran qualifying times.

In the discus, Bristol O'Connor had a throw of 139-9 to qualify.

The Lady T-Birds will be back on the track at the Texas Relays this weekend.