LINCOLN, Neb. (5/30/03) -- North Texas senior sprinter Ananka Clark saved her best for last as she broke the school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.48 at the NCAA Midwest Regional to advance to Saturday's final. Clark broke her own school record in the 100 meters that she set earlier in the year by finishing in second place in her heat and seventh overall. Clark will attempt to become the first North Texas female athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championship since 1988. Clark can earn an automatic bid to the Championship with a top-five finish in the finals.

"She (Clark) had a great day and she's in a good position to make a run at the automatic qualifier," said North Texas head coach Rick Watkins. "I think that she has a great chance. Her start is improving, she's been getting better the last two weeks and she's getting close to being at the top of her game".

Clark's day didn't end with the 100-meter dash as she also ran in the 200-meter dash and was a member of the 4x100 relay team. In the 200-meter dash Clark narrowly missed the school record as she clocked in at 23.59, just .02 off the school record, but fell just short of qualifying for the regional final.

The 4x100 team ran a time of 46.12 while senior Cherri Rowe ran a time of 59.71 in the 400-meter dash but didn't qualify for the finals. In the field events Latrecia Taylor and Keisha Gentry both had solid outings as Taylor had a toss of 42-2.75 in the shot put and Gentry fired a throw of 112-8 in the javelin.

On the men's side the 4x100 relay team highlighted the day with the fifth fastest time in school history at 40.52. The team of Trey Runnels, Nathan Roberts, Derek Logan, and Earnest Kelly finished in 12th place overall with the season best time  but failed to qualify for the finals. Senior Arthur Cox also had a solid time of 47.51 in the 400-meter dash. In the field events Jerome Carrothers had his second best toss of the season in the discus at 165-1 to finish in third in his flight but fell just short of qualifying for tomorrow's regional final.

"Were trying to take the next step and go to the next level and some of the guys are disappointed. We knew coming in that there was going to be a lot of competition. This is probably the fastest and best region in the nation," said Watkins.

The Midwest Regional wraps up Saturday with North Texas athletes competing in the men's pole vault, women's high jump, triple jump and 100-meter dash.