CARSON, Calif. — Tiger Bennie Brazell and Lady Tiger Deonna Lawrence breezed through the qualifying rounds at the USA Track and Field Championships Friday evening as competition continued from the Home Depot Center.
Brazell easily secured an automatic bid to the semifinal round of the men’s 400-meter hurdles, winning his prelim heat in 49.94 to record the fifth fastest qualifying time of the day.
Lawrence, competing in the junior national competition, qualified to the semifinals of the 400-meter dash. The All-American placed second in her first round heat to also advance with the field’s fifth fastest time of the day (54.19).
In addition, former Lady Tiger great Muna Lee moved on to the semifinals of the women’s 100 meters, finishing second in her prelim heat with a time of 11.21.
Junior Kelly Willie’s season came to an end as he just missed out on making the finals of the men’s 400-meter dash. The 14-time All-American placed fifth in his semifinal round heat with a time of 46.17 to miss the finals by less than two-tenths of a second.
Action from the USA Championships continues Saturday morning as competition gets underway at 9 a.m.