June 12, 2008

Des Moines, Iowa -

Day One Full Results

After severe thunderstorms in the area delayed the start of competition for two hours in day one of the 2008 NCAA Outdoor National Championships, the Western Carolina representatives kicked off the meet with all six competitors competing in four events.

Senior Raquel Ramseur concluded one of the most decorated careers in Western Carolina history with a 19th-place finish overall in the women's 400-meter dash. Ramseur finished fourth in her heat with a time of 53.79 seconds, just eight-one hundredths of a second off qualifying for the semifinals.

The Charlotte, N.C. native brought home a total of eight conference honors during her four years as a Catamount, including being named the Most Valuable Female Performer at the 2008 SoCon Outdoor Championships. She totaled over 12 victories in conference championship action, with four coming at the outdoor championships this past April.

Also competing on the 400-meter dash was junior Manteo Mitchell, who took home a 21st-place finish in the preliminaries of the men's 400-meters, tripping the tape in a time of 47.21 seconds. Mitchell's time was good for fifth in his heat, which including four of the top finishers overall in the event. The lone returning individual competitor for WCU at the National Championships, he improved upon his 26th-place performance in the 400-meters at last year's meet.

In his first-ever appearance in the National Championships in the high jump, sophomore Matt Evans cleared a top height of 2.05 meters to finish tied for 20th overall, just missing out on the finals. Evans came into the meet ranked number 21 in the nation in the event after setting a school record on four different occasions during the season.

Just missing out on advancing to the finals on the first day of competition was the men's 4x100-meter relay team, who finished their race in a time of 39.80 seconds, a mere three-one hundredth of a second off the eighth-place mark, which would have advanced them to the finals. However, due to a handoff that took place outside the designated zone, the Catamounts were disqualified.

WCU will look to senior Zeb Johnson to try and extend their stay in Des Moines on Thursday, when he will begin his quest for an individual national title in the men's 200-meter dash. Round one preliminaries will begin at approximately 5:25 CT, with the semifinals scheduled for 6:45 CT.

Fans can follow live results by going to www.TrackShark.com, or by logging onto the home page for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships here. Full results and highlights for WCU student-athletes will be posted on CatamountSports.com at the conclusion of today's action.