Eastern graduate Jewel Ash, a junior at Charleston Southern, recorded a fast early performance in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday in a meet in Knoxville, Tenn.
Ash won the hurdles at the Tennessee Invitational in 57.72. She edged Tennessee senior Kyla Robinson-Hubbard, who PR’d at 57.87 for 2nd place.
Ash PR’d with 57.16 last May in High Point, N.C., and also ran 57.43 in Columbia, S.C., and 57.92 in High Point. She made it to the NCAA East Preliminary Round last May in Bloomington, Ind., but fell short of reaching the NCAA Championships.
Ash ranks No. 18 among U.S. women and No. 33 in the world. She finished last year ranked No. 28 among American women.
Ash is No. 1 in the Big South Conference in both the 400IH and the flat 400 with a 55.58 from a meet last month on her home track.
Oddly, Charleston Southern’s web site ran a story this weekend saying Ash had broken the school record in the intermediate Saturdays, although she’s run faster twice, as you can clearly see on her TFRRS page or her World Athletics page.
Even more confusingly, the record book on the school’s own web site lists lists Ash’s 59.50 from two years ago as the school record, although she broke that record more than a year ago, and she’s run faster six separate times now.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 