June 11, 2009

LAS VEGAS - UNLV track and field student-athletes Lekeisha Lawson and Candise Maxwell saw their season come to an end Thursday at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which are being held at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark.

Lawson and Maxwell both did not meet qualifying marks to move onto the semifinals following their opening-round races today.

Maxwell was the first Rebel to compete and after stumbling out of the blocks at the start of the 100-meter hurdles, the junior hit the first two and finished with a time of 13.86. Lawson then competed in the 200 meters and the senior clocked a time of 24.48, which was not fast enough to move into the next round.

UNLV head coach Yvonne Scott-Williams, who finished up her second season at the helm of the Rebels, said that this would serve as a building block for the future.

"We have the talent to compete at this level, we just need to get more confidence in ourselves when we get to these big meets, because there is no room for error at this level," Scott-Williams said. "I am still very proud of Lekeisha and Candise, and we will continue to work hard and get back here next year."

This was the second straight national meet for Lawson, a native of Victorville, Calif., who earned an at-large spot to this year's meet in the 200 meters with a time of 23.62. Lawson ran a leg on the 4x100 meter relay team that qualified for the national championships last year. It was the first national outdoor meet for Maxwell, as she earned an automatic bid by finishing fifth in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA West Regional meet with a time of 13.48.