Women's Indoor Track and Field Southern Conference

ASU's Harrelson Off To Good Start In Indoor Season

BOONE, N.C. - In her first two competitions of the 2001 indoor season, Mary Jayne Harrelson (Timberlake, N.C.) used a pair of world-class events to climb into the NCAA rankings in both the 800-meter run and the indoor mile. Harrelson recorded a time of 2:08.37 in the 800 meters Feb. 2, at the 94th annual Millrose Games in New York City and registered a time of 4:40.98 in the mile Feb. 4, at the New Balance Invitational.

Competing in the nation's most famous indoor track meet, at the world's most famous sporting arena, Madison Square Garden, Harrelson finished fourth in a prestigious 800-meter run field that included three Olympians, and crossed the finish stripe in 2:08.37. The four-time All-America athlete trailed race winner and US Olympian Jearles Miles-Clark by 2.95 seconds.

"It's good to have Mary Jayne back after her sabbatical to attempt to make the US Olympic team last spring," stated Director of Track & Field and Cross Country John Weaver. "She is excited about ending her NCAA career in style. By qualifying, she's cleared the first step toward her goal."

The 16-time Southern Conference champion is currently the second-fastest female athlete this season in the 800 meters. Her time serves as a provisional qualifier to the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Sunday, Harrelson competed in the New Balance Invitational indoor mile and finished fifth with a clocking of 4:40.98. In a top-notch field of runners in Boston, Mass., Harrelson executed the fourth-fastest time among Division I runners and automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The weekend's performances were Harrelson's first indoors since finishing the 1999 indoor season with a pair of All-America performances. She finished second in the mile and fifth in the 800 meters at the 1999 NCAA championships.

Harrelson looks to add to her list of Southern Conference plaudits at the league's indoor championships Feb. 23-24, at the Memorial Center, in Johnson City, Tenn. She goes for her final chance at an indoor national title at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships March 9-10, at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.