June 8, 2005

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - It was by the narrowest of margins, but Halima Decree of UNLV track and field advanced to the finals of the 100 meters Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships being held at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.

DeCree clocked an 11.53 in the race to finish with the ninth-fastest time entering the finals and she was just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Shalonda Solomon of South Carolina, who ran a 11.54. Marshevet Hooker of Texas ran a 11.33 to clock the fastest time heading into Friday's final which is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (PT).c

Christine Spence begins competing at the championships Thursday as the senior will run in the 400 meter hurdles as well as compete in the high jump. The opening round of the 400 meter hurdles is at 3:00 p.m. while qualifying for the high jump finals is at 3:00 p.m. Friday is the semifinals for the 400 meter hurdles and then Saturday is the finals for both the high jump and the hurdles.

Spence is a two-time All-American for the Rebels, having earned her first such honor at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing seventh in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 57.20. This past indoor season she earned All-America honors for a second time after she finished eighth in the pentathlon with 4,036 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The top-eight finishers in each event at this year's outdoor championships earn All-America honors.

Fans can follow the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships by clicking here.