Clayton State's Smith finishes fourth overall in high jump at Georgia Tech Invitational

ATLANTA - May 12, 2012 - Going into Saturday's Georgia Tech Invitational, Clayton State's Shannon Smith aimed to improve on her NCAA Division II provisional qualifying height in the high jump.

Smith succeeded in that by placing fourth overall in the high jump with a height of 5-7.5. That was an improvement of an inch from when she first qualified two weeks ago at the Coach "O" Invitational at Troy. However, it was a half-inch short of the mark needed to advance to the upcoming NCAA Division II National Championships.

Still, considering she joined the team just over a month ago, Smith will finish in the Top 25 in the nation this season in the high jump at the Division II level.

Two other Laker athletes competed on Saturday. In addition to Smith, freshman Jessica Covington was also in the high jump, but scratched in her jumps. The same was true for senior Kayla Mobley, who also scratched in her attempts in the shot put.