Duke’s Aliya Garozzo from Paul VI and Howard’s Arianna Smith from Pennsville both advanced to the 400-meter hurdles quarterfinals at the NCAA Championships East Prelims Thursday in Jacksonville.
Garozzo won the 5th of seven heats in 56.16, her 2nd-fastest time ever. Smith placed 2nd in the 3rd heat in 57.11, her 2nd-fastest time as well. Both are seniors. Garozzo started out at Penn, Smith competed previously at Princeton and Rutgers.
Both advanced automatically to the NCAA quarterfinals, scheduled for 7:25 p.m. Saturday at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.
The top 12 in those three races – the top three from each heat and the next three-fastest – will move on to the NCAA Championships semifinals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., at 6:14 p.m. June 2. The top 12 from the West Regionals in College Station, Texas, will also compete in the semis in Eugene.
Garozzo’s time was 4thfastest of the 48 runners who qualified for East Prelims, and Smith was 11th-fastest. Garozzo is ranked 8th in NCAA Division 1 with her 55.77 at a meet in Durham, N.C., in April, and Smith is ranked 12th with her 56.11 two weeks ago when she won the MEAC title in Norfolk, Va.
Garozzo is the 2nd-fastest intermediate hurdler New Jersey has ever produced, behind four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin, who set a world-record 50.37 when she won the Olympic gold medal last summer in Paris. Smith is 4th on that list, behind McLaughlin, Garozzo and Rancocas Valley’s Tonya Lee [55.78 in 1996].
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 