Kaydian Jones, Firebirds 4x400M Relay Team Announced Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship Participants
INDIANAPOLIS – Senior Kaydian Jones and the Firebirds' 4x400M Relay Team consisting of Jones, Jerily Benjamin, Marlena Wright and Simone Grant have been selected to participate in the 2014 NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships in Winston-Salem, NC at JDL Fast Track. Jones qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for the 200M event and helped the 4x400M relay team do likewise.
Jones (Journalism – Kingston, Jamaica/St. Andrew HS) was selected for the 200M event as a result of her season-best time of 25.03s at last Sunday's George Mason Last Chance Meet. She is ranked No. 16 in the nation in this event.
Meanwhile, the 4x400M relay team is ranked No. 11 in the nation, with Jones running the lead-off leg, followed by long-striding junior Jerily Benjamin, sophomore Marlena Wright and sophomore anchor Simone Grant. This team also made the most of last Sunday's Last Chance Meet, finishing with a season-best time of 3:51.23s to ensure they qualified for the NCAA Championships. This time also made them the No. 1 ranked team in the East Region – the first No. 1 regional ranking in head coach Alton McKenzie's four-year tenure at UDC.
This marks the second year in a row under Head Coach Alton McKenzie that the Firebirds have had at least one representative compete in the Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Firebirds have also won the East Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014.