Crawford Becomes CSU's First Track All-American with Fifth-Place Finish in 100 Meters

Charlotte, N.C. -- A day after a disappointing lane position draw in her strongest event, Columbus State's Shelisa "Shan" Crawford became the school's first-ever track All-American as she posted a fifth-place finish in the 100 meter dash finals at the NCAA Division II Track Championships.

Crawford, a graduate of Smiths Station High School, entered the event as the number two qualifier in the 200 meter dash, but drew a disappointing lane draw in the Friday preliminary. Crawford drew lane eight - the outside-most lane - and finished second in her heat, but her time was six one-hundredths of a second out of qualifying for the final. Ironically, shortly after the 200 preliminaries, weather forced postponement of the rest of the day's events, another stroke of bad luck for Crawford.

The disappointment of Friday was quickly erased Saturday evening when Crawford placed herself among the nation's best. She sprinted to an 11.96 finishing time, despite running into a three meter-per-second headwind. Her top five finish automatically earned her a spot on the All-America team. 

Lincoln (Mo.) sprinter Semoy Hackett won the event with a blistering time of 11.33. Wanda Hutson (Abilene Christian, 11.70), Brittany Henderson (Minn. St.-Mankato, 11.84), and Portia Wilson (Ft. Valley St., 11.87) were the other runners in the top five.

"Shan did a great job today after being disappointed with the way things worked out on Friday," said CSU head coach J.D. Evilsizer. "The weather conditions were not very good at all today with it being windy and wet, but she was able to run a great time and become our first All-American. It is a great finish to a successful first year for us."