With the MEAC championships looming, the Florida A&M Lady Rattlers track team used the Seminole Invitational at Florida State to improve on their current times and for secure qualifying spots for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship on Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Darlene Moore said she was satisfied with the effort that her team performed on Saturday.
“It showed me that they can perform under all types of circumstances,” Moore said. “They can not only have stellar performances in the big meets, but they can also have stellar performances in the smaller meets as well.”
With 17 team members qualified for the outdoor championships, the FSU invitational allowed Coach Moore to now have 18 eligible to participate.
Several Lady Rattlers posted victories at the invitational, including sophomore Dynasty Jones, who set a personal best in the 400m with a time of 54.37.
As the MEAC championships lie only a few weeks away, sophomore Chandelic Jackson said she is optimistic about the team’s chances to walk away with first place.
“I think we can possibly get first place and people to keep improving on their time,” Jackson said. “If we continue to work hard at practice and pushing ourselves we can definitely get it.”
At the invitational, junior Kinnesha Jones placed second in the triple jump with a jump of 12.14m, while sophomore Nakia Linson placed second in the long jump with a jump of 5.72m and third in the 100 with a season best time of 11.77.
In the 200m, sophomore Richena Louis notched a personal best of 24.75.
The invitational was a smaller meet than usual, so it allowed the team the chance to better their lane selection for a handful of events. Coach Moore admitted that she encourages the team to compete in as many events as possible, so several of the Lady Rattlers used the invitational to claim spots in other events.
The meet also gave members a chance to tweak minor mistakes.
“With me being a jumper can help improve by staying focused and tweaking the minor issues with my jumps so I can score the most points,” junior Stephanie Colter said.
Still, Coach Moore believes that her team will continue the upward trend from the past few years and place in a top 3 spot in the outdoor championships.
“To get there you got to have a lot of talent and a little bit of luck,” she said. “These young ladies have the talent and as long as they have a little luck we can do very well.”
The Lady Rattlers next meet is the Tom Jones Invitational at the University of Florida, their last meet before the MEAC outdoor championships.