AUSTINTOWN, Ohio - Junior sprinter
Jessica Starks (Akron, Ohio/Akron East HS) garnered Ohio Athletic Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week honors on Monday after posting a pair of NCAA provisional qualifying marks this past weekend.
Starks won the 200 meter dash at Saturday's OAC Black Meet at Wilmington College with a time of 25.25, which was fastest in the nation this season to this point and was 1.16 seconds better than her closest competitor. Her time automatically qualifies her for the OAC Championships and is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
The junior also served as the anchor leg for Capital's winning 4x100 meter relay that tallied a time of 48.25. The squad posted the fourth best time in the nation so far this spring and was nearly a full second ahead of its closest competition on Saturday. Their time provisionally qualifies the group for the NCAA Championship Meet, which will be held May 21-23 at Marietta College.
Starks has now been named the OAC Performer of the Week five times during her outdoor track career including one honor as a freshman and three last season as a sophomore.
Capital returns to action next Saturday at the Marv Frye Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University with field events beginning at 10:30 a.m. and running events starting at Noon.