MOUNT OLIVE N.C. – Clayton State men's and women's track & field sent eight individuals, four from each program, to the Mount Olive First Chance on Saturday, May 11 with the hopes of either notching an NCAA Division II qualifying time or improving upon one already achieved.
 
While the Lakers put forth several strong performances, they did not hit those standards and there will still be work to be done tomorrow at the Mount Olive Last Chance tomorrow as three of those individuals will round out the regular season.
 
Senior Destiny Johnson (New Iberia, La.) came the closest in the high jump as she tied for second out of seven with a mark 1.66-meters. That was 0.01 shy of the NCAA provisional mark and 0.02 off from her previous provisional height of 1.68-meters.
 
Next closest was senior T.J. Witherspoon (Thomasville, Ga.) who ran a time of 1:52.26 in the 800-meters. That was good for a 2-of-9 finish in that event but was more than two tenths off the pace for the provisional standard of 1:52.03.
 
Junior Chris Florence (Newnan, Ga.), who hit a provisional of 47.66 in the 400-meters earlier in the season, came in 8-of-31 in that event with a time of 48.06. The Division II standard is 47.77 and he currently sits 37^th in the country entering the weekend.
 
Mount Olive will host their Last Chance meet tomorrow, Sunday, May 12 and Johnson, junior Nia Elmore (Hinesville, Ga.) and Witherspoon will try to earn provisional marks that will earn them a spot at the NCAA Division II Championships later this month.
 
CLAYTON STATE MEN'S COMPETITORS (4)
Chris Florence – 400-meters (8-of-31, 48.06)
Brian Sims, Jr. – 400-meters (20-of-31, 49.38)
Courtland White – 800-meters (5-of-9, 1:57.57)
T.J. Witherspoon – 800-meters (2-of-9, 1:52.26)
 
CLAYTON STATE WOMEN'S COMPETITORS (4)
Nia Elmore – 100-meters (9-of-18, 12.01)
Chaviya Jackson – 400-meters (5-of-7, 59.27)
Destiny Johnson – High Jump (T2-of-7, 1.66m)
Jasmine Radford – 200-meters (10-of-18, 24.66)