June 1, 2008

Fayetteville, Ark. - Miles Smith woke up Saturday morning a bit sore after running the fastest qualifying time in the 400-meter prelims at the NCAA Mideast Regional and decided to play it same in the finals.

Smith ran easily and timed 48.53 to place eigth. He had wrapped up a berth in the NCAA finals a day earlier and was content with a top 12 finish.

"I left the decision up to Miles and he decided to play it safe,|" said Southeast coach Joey Haines. |"He could have won the race, but he could also have re-injured his leg. He will be in Des Moines, Ia. for the NCAA finals."

Redhawks freshman javelin thrower Samantha Espiricueta nearly qualified for the national meet. Espiricueta placed sevent in the regional with a throw of 151-6. Only the top five advance and Espiricueta was fifth going into the final round, but two copetitors passed her on their final throw.

"Samantha did a great job in her first trip to an NCAA Regional,|" Haines said. "Her throw of 151-6 was a personal best and the fourth best in school history. She has a great future ahead of her."

Lindsay Hearne finished 13th in the javelin with a throw of 129-11 while Bilal Hameed was 20th in the triple jump with a jump of 48-8.

John Berry, who finished seventh in the long jump on Friday, remains eligible for an at-large berth to the national finals.