May 28, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Ackeem Smith (St. Catherine, Jamaica) became the fourth Hawk to qualify for the quarterfinals during the second day of competition in the NCAA Preliminary Round on Friday.

Smith ran the 110-meter hurdles in 14.24 seconds at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex at Indiana University to qualify for Saturday's quarterfinal round.

Three other Hawks ran their quarterfinal round on Friday, all competing against some of the strongest runners in the country.

Thomas Keane-Dawes (Camden, N.C.) ran his best 400-meter dash of the season in 47.24 seconds, finishing in 20th place in the quarterfinals.

Running in the 400-meter hurdles quarterfinal round, Andre Walsh (St. Catherine, Jamaica) fell just short of qualifying for Des Moines, getting 14th place with a time of 51.70 seconds.

The third quarterfinalist, Cynthia Anais (Martinique, France), had a strong run of 2:09.23 in the 800-meter run, getting 23rd place, finishing short of the semifinal round.

Two more UMES student-athletes competed in their first event in the preliminary round to finish up Friday for UMES.

Vanessa Henry (Capital Heights, Md.) represented the women's side in field competition, getting a throw of 15.33 meters in the shot put, taking 19th place in the event.

Back on the men's side, Damian Miles (Teaneck, N.J.) competed in the 200-meter dash preliminary round, earning a time of 21.97 seconds, taking 43rd place.

Action in Bloomington will conclude on Saturday, including the relay competition and last of the quarterfinals.