Easton's Price third in the 800 at NCAA Championships

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

This is from Eric Trainer of the University of Tennessee media relations department:



Price Nabs Third In 800 Meters At NCAA Championships



DES MOINES, Iowa -- Chanelle Price traveled to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, seeking her first individual national title in the 800 meters. The Lady Vol junior came up just short of that goal, but she did crank out the best NCAA finish of her college career on a soggy Friday night at Drake Stadium.



The Easton, Pa., native bolted to the lead and pulled the field of seven through the 200- (28.4 seconds), 400- (59.58) and 600-meter marks (1:31.13). Maintaining a small advantage entering the homestretch, she was unable to hold off Oregon’s Anne Kesselring and Oklahoma State’s Natalja Piliusina down the straightaway, finishing third in 2:03.02. Kesselring edged Piliusina for the title, 2:02.15 to 2:02.16.



Price, whose six-point contribution pushed the Lady Vols’ total to 12 through three days here, is the third Lady Vol to chart a top-three finish in the NCAA Outdoor 800 under the tutelage of UT Director of Track & Field J.J. Clark. Phoebe Wright won in 2010, while Kameisha Bennett was second in 2004. Clark also coached Wright to a national title indoors and Nicole Cook to a victory in 2004 and a runner-up effort in 2003.



“Chanelle did a lot of things right, showed good poise and had a very solid race,” Clark said. “We discussed it afterward, and she felt like she might have gotten excited and tried to move too early coming down the homestretch. She is learning how to execute from the front, and it’s exciting to see her discovering the ability to master that.



“There’s definitely a lot more there for her, and she’s made nice progress since the indoor season. She executed and maintained her poise better during the outdoor season. She has qualified for the USA Championships, and with the two runners here finishing ahead of her being foreign athletes, she’ll be the top collegiate 800 runner in Eugene in two weeks.”

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