GULF SHORES, Ala.- On Thursday and Friday, Jasmine Mason (FR/Del City, Okla.) and Teresa Ambuul (FR/Colorado Springs, Colo.) competed at the NAIA Women's Track and Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Ambuul competed in the 400 meter hurdles on Thursday afternoon, and finished ranked twenty-second overall, with a time of 1:05.94. She also finished as the fourth fasted freshman in the nation. St. Gregory's women's track and field coach Alice Ross said, "Teresa ran well for her 2nd National appearance. She took off a little slow for a national meet, which threw her off a bit, but she tried to recover at 200 meters. She clipped the last hurdle with her trail leg, so she didn't have the race she anticipated, but it was a learning experience, and showed her how to compete with girls who have been competing at this level for 4 years now."

Jasmine Mason ran in the 100 meter sprint on Friday afternoon and finished sixteenth out of thirty-eight participants overall, with a time of 12.04. Her 12.04 time is just 0.01 seconds short of her personal best time, and Mason finishes as the fourth fastest freshman in the nation. Coach Alice Ross says," Her start has improved from her other races, which is what we have been really working on, but there is still some to improve on. She just ran out of time to catch the top girl in her heat."

Coach Ross concluded by saying, "Both girls overall ran and competed with confidence. As a freshmen competing at this level can be intimidating, but both girls have had big meets under their belts. Jasmine won State in the 4x100m, as well as winning a team state title for Oklahoma. Teresa won State in the 4x400, as well as winning a team State title for Colorado. With their experience it helps a little. They didn't let the nerves affect them as much as they could have. They are the start of the future. We can see a lot from them both at the National level in the future, not only just appearing at Nationals, but by the time they graduate you could see a National Champion from one or both of them. I don't mean to sound overally confident, but these girls can run, and they have so much to learn and can only improve even more. That's what makes it exciting! We have 3 more years of this! They have paved the way and are the future of this program."

When asked about the future, Coach Ross says, "We have a very solid freshmen class coming in that will only add to the amount of talent. We have signed a girl from Jasmine's state champion team that will help push Jasmine and Teresa both, since she runs the 400 down. The depth of the program is also growing and we will make some noise!"