ARCHIE, KEY LEAD RAMS AT MASON LAST CHANCE MEET

FAIRFAX, Va. – On such a young and talented team, experience and leadership is never overlooked.

That's where seniors like Sernarra Archie (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Whitney Key (Goochland, Va.) can be huge and that's exactly what the veteran duo did this past weekend for the Virginia Commonwealth University women's track & field team at the Mason Last Chance Meet.

"I'm really proud of both Sernarra and Whitney," Head Coach Jon Riley said. "They have come a long way and experienced a lot during their careers here at VCU. I think I'm their third or fourth coach and they continue to work hard for our coaching staff and I can't thank them enough. I'm very happy they way they ended the indoor season."

Archie started the meet off with a third-place showing in the triple jump, then set a personal best with a time of 8.99 in the prelims for the 60-meter hurdles. She would finish second in that event. Key set a personal best with a time of 7.84 in the 60-meter dash, good for third-place, then she went on to win the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.86.

The duo helped the Black & Gold tally a total of 13 top-three finishes.

Other notable performances were sophomore Allison Morris (Langhorne, Pa.), who won the high jump with a personal best of 5' 1 ¾", sophomore Heather DelaCruz (Williamsburg, Va.) with a second-place finish and a personal best of 10:52.60 in the 3000-meter run and sophomore Theresa Trader with a personal best and third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.23.

The freshmen duo of Jaleesa and Jessica Williams (Virginia Beach, Va.) helped the Rams grab the top three spots in the shot put, with Jaleesa's toss of 41' 8" taking the crown.

Rounding out the day was sophomore Nicole Walters (Orange, Va.) who finished second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.99.

The Rams will take the week to prepare for the ECAC Championships in Boston, Mass. beginning on Friday, March 5th.