CSU relay team reaches NCAA final

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — So far so good for the Charleston Southern women's 4x100- meter relay team that continues to break new ground for CSU and the Big South Conference. The first relay team to make it to the NCAA Championships, the group became the first to qualify for the finals, running 44.35 seconds, a school record.

Jessica Thomas, Dionne Gibson, Misha Morris and Gabrielle Houston on Wednesday ran a sub 45-second time for the third straight time. The Bucs' semifinal time was third in their heat, behind LSU and Baylor, putting them ninth overall to grab the final berth in the finals.

They will compete against three Big 12 teams (Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor), three SEC teams (LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee), along with Florida State and Arizona State. The event final will be run Friday at 7:05 p.m.. Friday and Saturday's track and field finals will be televised on CBS.

Gibson is scheduled to run in the first round of the 200-meter dash today at 7:10 p.m.

Fishing

Figment, a 58-foot Bayliss owned by Mickey Corcoran of Trent Woods, N.C., became the first boat to weigh a blue marlin from among the 157 participants in the 51st annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City, N.C.

Figment's fish weighed 439 pounds. The Figment crew could win $990,025 if no other tournament-sized blue marlin are caught.

No Problem, a 58-foot Viking out of North Myrtle Beach, brought in a blue marlin but it failed to meet either the 110-inch or 400-pound minimums established by the tournament.

Defending champion Artemis, owned by John Darby of Charleston, scored a blue marlin release Wednesday. Artemis was the second straight Charleston boat to win the prestigious event, following the 2007 victory by Bak Bar, owned by Neal Baker and Billy Barnwell.

Compromise IV, owned by Bobby Hood of Charleston, which had been in second place in the release division, was overtaken. Galot 3 and Penta Gone joined Hoos Ya Daddy with two blue marlin releases. But Compromise IV earned $4,959.60 for the first blue marlin release of the tournament plus another $2,000 daily prize. The tournament continues through Saturday with a total purse of $1,618,316.

Southern Conference

Dr. William "Bill" Pierce of Furman was named president of the Southern Conference and will serve a two-year term, the league office announced.

Pierce, who has served as Furman's NCAA faculty athletics Representative since 2003, joined the Furman faculty in 1983 and is chair of the health and exercise science department. He played basketball at his alma mater, Davidson.

College baseball

Lander picked a Division II College World Series coach to lead its baseball program. Athletic director Jeff May said that Belmont Abbey coach Kermit Smith would take over the Bearcats program. Smith led the Crusaders to this year's national semis. He spent eight seasons as Belmont Abbey's coach.

Swimming

Gracie Herlong and Jordan Fogarty, both members of the Mount Pleasant Swim Club, signed to swim for the College of Charleston. Herlong graduated from Bishop England, and Fogarty got her high school degree through home school.