Samantha Elliott repeated as the women's 400-meter hurdles champion at the 2014 Penn Relays
New Orleans, LA – The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has announced Johnson C. Smith University junior hurdler
Samantha Elliott (Kingston, Jamaica) as the Division II Women's National Track Athlete of the Week for the week ending April 26th. This is a second time honor for Elliott and she is only the second for a recipient from JCSU.
At the 2014 Penn Relays, Elliott earned the DII Women's National Athlete of the Week award after winning the 400-meter hurdles championship in 56.63 by more than two-thirds of a second over Division I and Jamaican competition. She trailed early, but proved to be the strongest in the field after taking the lead halfway down the final straight.
The finish ranks Elliott third among all collegians in 2014, and is less than a third of a second shy of her PR of 56.38, which came in a national-title performance a year ago at NCAAs. Elliott's aforementioned PR is the second fastest in Division II history, which came after running a second slower at Penn last year than she did this past weekend.
This is the second time Elliott has received this honor this outdoor season. Elliott earned the Division II women's award following a weekend at the Raleigh Relays that saw her win the 400-meter hurdles in 57.52.
JCSU track and field will travel to Greensboro, NC to compete in the 2014 Aggie Track Classic hosted by North Carolina A&T State University. Events will be held at the Irwin Belk Track Stadium on Saturday, May 10th.
