Track and Field: Season ends for Panthers after NCAA Outdoor Championships

The Pitt athletics 2011-2012 season finally ended last weekend when the track and field team’s… The Pitt athletics 2011-2012 season finally ended last weekend when the track and field team’s campaign concluded at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

But disappointingly for the seven Panthers who qualified for the final meet of the season, none of them advanced to the finals in their respective events.

On June 6, the Pitt women’s 400-meter relay team, made up of juniors Ashley Woodford, Jonnique Lawrence, Arielle Fonrose and senior Cambrya Jones, was disqualified in the preliminary round of the event, while senior men’s sprinter Jermaine Lowery finished 22nd in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.23 seconds.

“We just had a mix-up with the hand-off [of the baton],” Jones said of the mistake that led to Pitt’s disqualification. “It’s unfortunate, but it happens sometimes.”

That same day, Jones also narrowly missed making the finals in the 100-meter dash as she finished in 10th place with a time of 11.33 seconds. Only eight runners made the finals of each event.

But on Thursday, Jones still had hopes of qualifying for the finals in her best event, the 200-meter dash.

“It was disappointing to just miss the finals of the 100-meter [dash],” she said. “But I was still confident that I would advance in the 200-meter because that’s my best event.”

Despite being the No. 3 seed in the event, Jones struggled and once again just failed to advance to the finals. She finished in ninth place after finishing in 22.76 seconds.

“Cambrya had an incredible season,” Pitt head coach Alonzo Webb said. “She wanted to have a great senior year and she was very focused all season. I’m really proud of her efforts, and she set the standard on what is expected now.”

Later this month, Jones will travel to the USA Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore., to try and earn a trip to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London this August.

“I’m excited to compete against such talented runners once again,” she said. “I qualified for both [the 100- and 200-meter dashes], but I’m just going to compete in the 200-meter so I can concentrate on that.”

Freshman Josh Thompson was the final Panther to be eliminated from the meet after he finished 22nd in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.12 seconds.

“This was a great experience for [Thompson] to build on,” Webb said. “He’s already looking forward to next season.”

Thompson was one of just two freshmen to qualify for nationals in the event.