WEEK of: MAY 5-18, 2008
New Jersey City University
junior All-American sprinter
EBONY BARNES (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) is the NJCU Women's Athlete of the Week for the third time this season and ninth time in her career and was also named the
New Jersey Athletic Conference Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week for the fifth time in nine weeks this season and the seventh time in her career. She won the 200-meter dash and placing first in the trials of 100-meters at the 2008 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, at Springfield College’s Blake Track on May 16-17.
Now a six-time All-ECAC recipient in her three-year outdoor career, she led the Gothic Knights to a fifth place finish among 54 schools—the third time in five years that NJCU has placed as high as fifth at the ECACs.
Barnes won her second career ECAC individual title and first in the 200-meters when she claimed gold in a personal-best time of 25.00 seconds, defeating a field of 24 athletes by 16/100th of a second.
The time was better than her previous best of 25.04 achieved on April 5 at the Osprey Open and increased her NCAA provisional qualifying time; the NCAA standard is 25.32. It is the 18th best time in the nation this year.
Barnes, who already owns the second fastest time in the country this year in the 100-meter dash, was looking to defend her ECAC title in the event, and was in good shape after winning the preliminary round over 31 sprinters in 12.23 seconds. But in the finals, her starting block slipped during wet, rainy conditions, and she finished fifth in 13.13.
Barnes, a three-time All-American in her career, including once in each of the last two outdoor seasons, will vie for titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the 2008 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships from Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24 in Oshkosh, WI.
