Clemson’s Oliveira Double Qualifier At East Region Championships

May 31, 2003

FAIRFAX, VA – Clemson women’s track and field sophomore Gisele Oliveira finished second in the triple jump on day two of the NCAA East Region Championships held Saturday on the campus of George Mason University. With today’s top-five finish in the triple jump, Oliveira will advance to the national meet in both the long jump and triple jump events. She will join Joana Costa and Lauren Nicholson at the 2003 NCAA Championships to be held June 11-14 at California State University in Sacramento.

In the team race, the Clemson women’s track and field team placed eighth of the 51 scoring teams. The University of Florida won the meet with 105 points, followed by South Carolina’s 77-point performance and North Carolina’s 72.5 points. The University of Miami took fourth place with 63 points, Penn State was fifth with 53 points, Florida State placed sixth (41 points), Georgia scored 37.5 points for seventh place, and Clemson’s 26-point effort was good for an eighth-place finish.

Oliveira posted a mark of 42’9.5″ in Saturday’s triple jump final to finish as the runner-up. On Friday, Oliveira placed second in the long jump with her mark of 20’9″, automatically advancing to the NCAA Championships in that event. She ranks second on the Lady Tigers’ all-time list in the long jump with a mark of 20’11.75″, and is Clemson’s all-time leader in the triple jump with her personal-best of 43’11.75″.

Shakirah Rutherford competed in the intermediate hurdles finals on Saturday. Rutherford narrowly missed automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 400m hurdles, placing sixth with a time of 58.55. Her time was a lifetime-best effort, and moves her into third on the Lady Tigers’ all-time list in that event. Rutherford also competed as a member of the Lady Tigers’ 4x400m relay that recorded a season-best time of 3:40.96 on Saturday. In another final on Saturday, Katie Pickett cleared 5’5.25″ in the high jump.

Also on Friday, Joana Costa cleared 12’10.25″ in the pole vault to claim second place and automatically advance to the NCAA Championships. Costa’s mark was a personal-best effort and ranks her second on Clemson’s all-time list in the event.

Senior Lauren Nicholson will also compete at the 2003 NCAA Championships, as a qualifier in the heptathlon. Nicholson recorded a personal-best point total of 5,200 points to provisionally qualify for the national meet. This will be her first trip to the NCAA Championships, and she could become the Lady Tigers’ first All-American in the event.