Issue date: 6/9/09 Section: Sports

Freshman sprinter Zye Boey sets up for the men's 200 meter run on Feb. 28 during the OVC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Lantz Fieldhouse. Boey will compete Wednesday night in the 100-meter dash preliminaries at the NCAA Outdoor Track National Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. (File Photo)

Freshmen sprinter Zye Boey, Eastern's sole qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor Track National Championships, will compete in the 100-meter dash preliminaries Wednesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.

Boey has been seeded tenth overall with his season-best time of 10.20, which he ran at the Louisville Cardinal Twilight meet on May 15. He automatically qualified for the field with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Mid East Regional on May 30.

Boey, who was named OVC Male Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, also qualified for the NCAA Indoor National Championships on March 13 with a 20.93 in the 200-meter dash. However, he was disqualified in his first race with a false start.

Five of the top ten seeds in the 100-meter dash field qualified out of the Mid East Regional, including Boey and LSU junior Trindon Holliday, the top-seed in the event with a 10.01.

Boey's time of 10.20 is second-best in Eastern history in the 100-meter. Claude Magee set the record in 1984 with his time of 10.16.

The women's 4-by-100 meter relay team did not qualify for the field after the team scored the first points in the history of the women's track program in an NCAA Regional on May 30. The relay, which placed fifth with an Eastern record-tying time of 45.55, had been placed on a list of potential alternates for the National Championships. The last team to qualify was Charlotte with a time of 44.84.

Although Eastern track and field has only qualified two other individuals for the outdoor nationals in the past 18 years, both those athletes saw tremendous success at the Championships. Ron White placed sixth in the javelin in 2002, and Dan Steele, the last runner to advance, won the 400-meter hurdles in 1992.

Boey is set to compete in the 100-meter dash preliminaries at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday night at John McDonnell Field at the University of Arkansas. The semifinals in the event will be run later the same evening.

Jeff Jurinek can be reached at 581-7943 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.

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