April 24, 2009

PHILADELPHIA, PA - There no butterflies present when the young Winston-Salem State Lady Rams took to the track at the 2009 Penn Relays. The Lady Rams had some great performances in their biggest meet of the season with a number of WSSU freshmen as well as a number of top returnees stepping up their efforts at Franklin Field in Philidelphia, Pa.

The WSSU freshman tandem of Melody Simpkins-McGee and Janae Jeter got things going with a pair of strong performances in the women's 400m hurdles. Simpkins-McGee finished 57th overall in the event at 1:07.38 while Jeter was close behind at 1:07.54. Both student-athletes finished ninth in their heats.

The Lady Rams' 4x100m relay team also got into the action on Thursday when the quartet of freshman Kayla Long, senior Wykeita Barnett, senior Malliron Hodge, and freshman Denesha Jiles finished 47th of the 84 teams that competed in the event in 48.71. The team finished seventh in the fourth heat of the event.

Also in action was the Lady Rams 4x400m relay team that finished 55th among the 84 teams that took part in the event. The team finished with a 3:56.81 and finished eighth in the fifth heat of the event. The Lady Rams left teams from Hampton, St. Joseph's, UNC-Wilmington, and Colgate behind them in the event. The team was made of senior Sandy Harrison, freshman Crystal Webley, freshman Shanika Lamons, and freshman Ashley Lawson.

The Rams and Lady Rams will return to action to finish compete in the fourth day of the event. For more information on Rams and Lady Rams track & field, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2909 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.