Date Posted: 6/28/2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Freshman Natasha Harvey is 71st in the long jump according to the International Association of Athletics Federations World rankings released on Tuesday, June 27.

"The IAAF ranking is a nice achievement for Tasha," said JU head coach Ron Grigg. "She is younger than all of the athletes ranked ahead of her so the future is bright. It also validates that she has arrived on the World Class level."

The IAAF World Rankings is a complex system that awards value to an athletes' six best performances in the last calendar year. The rankings assess and assign value according to the actual performance, the place achieved in each performance and the level of the competition. Adjustments are also made for positive and negative wind readings. The average of the six best performances is then calculated to reach a ranking score. The goal of the rankings is to compare athletes' achievements within an event and across different events.

Harvey earns her first world ranking after winning the long jump at the U.S. Junior Track Championships on June 22 to earn a spot on the U.S. team for the IAAF World Junior Track Championships in Beijing, China, in August.

She also placed seventh in the long jump with her second-best career mark (21'4.75) at the AT&T U.S. Championships. Harvey recorded one of the nation's best jumps with a 21'5.25" at the FSU Twilight on May 6, to start all of her national recognition.

Currently, her jump is 50th in the world, eighth in the U.S. and the second among the World Juniors list. Harvey returned home to New Haven, Conn. for the month of July and will be joining the U.S. junior team in early August for a training camp before they depart for Beijing.