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Davis becomes eighth Catamount to compete in NCAA tournament
On the heels of breaking her own school-record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Western Carolina junior Asia Davis earned an at-large bid to the NCAA National Championships, which will be held June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif.
Davis, who finished seventh in the regional competition, becomes the eighth Catamount all-time to earn a berth in the national meet and is the first since Virginia LaCombe went in the high jump back in 2002.
“It is an outstanding honor to receive an at-large bid to the nationals for both Asia and Western Carolina University,” said track and field head coach Danny Williamson. “We felt that she had earned it last Friday with her showing in the preliminary rounds and had hoped she could have improved upon that performance in the finals to get an automatic bid, but it just did not work out on Saturday.”
Davis, who won the Southern Conference championship in the event, has eclipsed the 60-second barrier five times this season, including her school-record time of 58.05 turned in during the preliminary rounds at last weekend’s NCAA East Regional. Her time, which won her heat in the 400-meter hurdles, was the third-best on the opening day and ended up being the sixth-quickest time recorded at the meet. She enters the national competition ranked 14th in the nation and was the third individual chosen at-large, with her time ranking ahead of nine automatic qualifiers.
Competing on a national level is nothing new to the Charlotte, N.C., native. In 2004, as a freshman, Davis placed seventh in the United States Junior Nationals – an event open to American qualifiers under the age of 20 – earning the title Junior All-American. Only six Catamounts all-time have competed in that event with three garnering All-American status. In addition to Davis, Caleb Bailey (1,500-meter run, 2000) and Ryan Lewis (pole vault, 1999) each earned the distinction. Williamson commented that at the NCAA championship, Davis will be competing against several individuals whom she raced at that meet two years ago.
“Following the junior nationals, we talked about wanting to compare two years down the line where she would rank against the competitors at her level. By her moving on to the NCAA Championships, this will allow us to make that comparison and to see where she ranks now,” said Williamson.
Including Western’s Davis, only four individuals from the SoCon – all women – will compete at the NCAA Nationals in California. Davis will be joined by Shannon Wommack and Lanni Marchant from Chattanooga in distance events and Beverly Burnett from Appalachian State in the shot put.
The Catamounts, however, were very close to garnering at-large bids in two other events. According to Williamson, both the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relay teams missed earning berths by just four positions after their seasonal and regional performances.
“It hurts to be that close without earning the bid, especially as well as our teams ran this season,” added Williamson. “But competing at that high of a level and experiencing some success gives us something to build upon and to shoot for next season.”
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