Julius Morris ties 200-meter program record at qualifying meet

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WKU sprinter Charles Shimukowa competes in the 400 meter run during Vanderbilt’s Music City Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Vanderbilt Rec. Center and Indoor Track Facility in Nashville. Shumukowa finished with the time of 48.80.

Tory Bowling
February 27, 2018

Julius Morris tied the WKU indoor track and field program record with a time of 20.89 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the Boston University Last Chance Qualifier over the weekend.

The time tied former Hilltopper Emmanuel Dasor’s indoor record set in 2016. Morris’ time finished fourth in the event, and currently sits at T-23rd across the indoor qualifying list.

Six Hilltoppers were in Boston this weekend for the qualifying meet. The WKU representatives were juniors Austin Hayes and Oliver Alexandre, along with seniors Charles Shimukowa, Morris and Eli Minor.

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“The group did a good job competing today,” head coach Erik Jenkins said in a press release. “We will wait to see how some of the performances hold up on the final NCAA list. We have learned a great deal about ourselves as we prepare for the outdoor season.”

The competitors were listed in three events: the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes and the 4×400-meter relay event. It was the athletes’ final chance to earn a trip to the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. The competitors would need to finish in the top 16 in the country for the season of their events to compete in the National Championships at Texas A&M University on March 9 and 10.

Minor got the day started for the Hilltoppers as he ran a time of 6.8 seconds in the 60 preliminary to put himself in position for the final race. Minor ran a 6.83 in his second race, which would finish eighth in the event. Minor ran his season-best 6.68 in the event at the Conference USA Championships, and that sits at T-33rd on the indoor qualifying list.

WKU’s 4×400 relay team comprised of Oliver Alexandre, Austin Hayes, Morris and Minor ran a 3:12.50 time in the event, good for WKU’s second-best mark of the season. That time took home runner-up honors in the event. WKU’s season best of 3:10.14 mark at the Music City Challenge currently ranks at 63rd in the country.

WKU is off until March 9, when they begin the outdoor season at Texas A&M.

Reporter Tory Bowling can be reached at 270-745-6291 and [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Tory_Bowling24