Cherry Hill East graduate Maya Drayton, a junior at Georgetown, led all qualifiers in the 400-meter dash Friday at the Big East Championships>
Drayton ran a season-best 55.15 to lead all eight qualifiers into Saturday’s final. Next-fastest qualifier was Villanova’s Micah Trusty, who ran 55.38 just behind Drayton in the first of five heats at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Indoor Track and Field Complex at Gately Park in Chicago.
Drayton’s previous season best was a 55.62 last month in a meet at the New Balance Center in Boston. Her lifetime best is a 54.46 outdoors last May in the Big East Championships in Storrs, Ct.
She’s a nine-time Big East medalist but seeking her first conference title.
Just missing the cutoff of 56.91 was Pennsauken graduate Jade Pope, a sophomore at DePaul. Pope ran 57.21 and was the fastest non-qualifier.
The women’s 400-meter dash final is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. Saturday.
Drayton also qualified for the 200 final with a 24.34, which was 2nd-fastest in the trials.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 