March 15, 2008

Florida State Men's Track & Field In First Place After Day One of NCAA Indoors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Even when the odds might not be in its favor, don't count out the Florida State men's track and field team. The Seminoles got a personal-best from every athlete on Friday's (March 14) first day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship and find themselves in first place with 26 points.

FSU has a seven-point lead over Arizona State while Tennessee is third at 17 points. Four teams are tied for fourth with 10 points.

What makes the Seminoles' team effort even more impressive is that seven-time NCAA champion - including a pair of 200m indoor titles - Walter Dix (Coral Springs, Fla.) is home in Tallahassee with strep throat.

The only Florida State female in action on day one was Hannah England (Oxford, England) during the prelims of the mile run. The sophomore made her move on the next to last lap to take second in her heat and overall with at time of 4:41.32.

Virginia Tech Women Tied For Second in NCAA Team Standings With 16 Points

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Highlighted by a pair of top-three finishes in the 60-meter hurdles, the 17th-ranked Virginia Tech women's track & field team scored 16 points to tie Texas and Mississippi for second place after the opening day of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday in the Randal Tyson Track Center.

Four out of the five Tech athletes who competed today, earned All-American honors.

A pair of Hokie hurdlers took second and third place in the women's 60-meter hurdles to earn 13 combined points.

Sophomore Kristi Castlin entered the meet with the top performance in the nation this year at 8.01 seconds. Castlin carried that momentum to a second-place finish with a time of 8.02 seconds. Her time was just .01 second off the school-record pace she ran last Saturday to win the Virginia Tech Last Chance.

Classmate Queen Harrison followed in third place by resetting her personal-best time for the second time in a span of three hours, trailing Castlin by just .01 seconds with a time of 8.03 seconds. Castlin and Harrison earned All-American status for the third time in their respective careers.

Clemson Men Tied for 12th After Day One at NCAA Indoor Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Mitch Greeley finished runner-up in the pole vault Friday evening to lead the Clemson men's track & field team on day one at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Tigers are tied for 12th in the team standings with one day of competition left.

Greeley earned his best-ever finish at the NCAA indoor national meet. The senior from Rock Hill, SC cleared 17'8.5" in less attempts than three others that also eventually cleared the height. Rory Quiller on Binghamton (18'0.5") won the competition. Greeley's runner-up finish will give him indoor All-America status for the second time in his career when the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association releases the complete list of All-Americans on Sunday.

Travis Padgett and C.J. Spiller both competed in Saturday's 60m prelims. Padgett advanced to Saturday's final by virtue of winning the third heat. He posted a time of 6.61, his best effort of the season thus far. Padgett is the NCAA's defending champion in the event. He will run in the final Saturday at 7:15 PM CST.

Miami's Simkins Runs Nation's Fastest Time in 400m Dash

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Miami's Krista Simkins ran the fastest time in the NCAA this year in the indoor 400-meter dash at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

The junior All-American ran a time of 51.95, winning her preliminary heat, qualifying for tomorrows 8:05 p.m. final.

Just two weeks ago Simkins won the 200 and 400-meter dashes at the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Duke's McKeever Places Third At NCAA's In 5,000m

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Junior Maddie McKeever ran in the 5,000m on Friday night in the NCAA Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas. The native of Littleton, Colo., ran the event in a personal-best 15:58.18, which placed her third. Live results for the entire meet can be found on www.flashresults.com.

McKeever's time improved upon her second-fastest mark in school history of 16:06.54 that she ran on Feb. 29 at the ACC Championships. That mark won her the title at the ACC's and automatically qualified her for the NCAA's. The Duke record in the indoor 5,000m is 15:52.47, by Clara Horowitz in 2006.

McKeever will earn her fifth All-America honor for her performance. She was an All-America in cross country the past two seasons and an All-America indoors and outdoors in 2007 in the 5,000m.

Virginia's Harrison Earns All-America Honors at NCAA Championships in 5000m

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Senior Emily Harrison finished ninth in the 5000-meters at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday evening, earning All-America honors for the third time in her career. The second ACC finisher to cross the line, Harrison finished in a time of 16:19.85, just three seconds shy of her personal-best.

"I think Emily's time and finish in this race is a huge accomplishment for her," head coach Randy Bungard said. "She ran a 5k and a 3k at the ACC Championships just two weeks ago and followed that up with a 5k this past weekend. For her to continue to improve with the distances that she has been running recently is a testament to her as an athlete. Jason Dunn has managed her training very well this season and we are extremely proud of her achievements and her competitiveness."

Harrison ranked 11th nationally going into the championships and earned All-ACC honors two weekends ago in both the 3000m and 5000m. She finished second in the 5k with a time of 16:27.39 and third in the 3k in 9:31.65.

Wolfpack's Dexter Adams Earns All-America Honors at NCAA Indoors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - NC State senior long jumper Dexter Adams finished sixth at the NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors. Adams jumped a 25'10.75, his second-highest this season after a 26'00.25" last week seeded him third nationally.

For Adams it was his first all-America honor and marked the third straight season he competed at the NCAA Championships for either indoor or outdoor.

Adams won the ACC Indoor title earlier this year in the long jump for his third career ACC crown.

North Carolina's Sossah Sets Meet Record On Day One Of NCAAs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - On day one of the NCAA Indoor Championships Mateo Sossah did something that no other heptathlete had done at the Championships when he cleared 2.08m (6-9.75) in the high jump to set a new meet record. Sossah currently sits in ninth place after four events of the heptathlon which will conclude on Saturday. Patience Coleman earned the Carolina women's team 1.50 points when she finished seventh in the high jump. Action will conclude in Fayetteville, Ark. on Saturday

Sossah opened the day with the 60-meter dash where he finished 16th in a time of 7.48 which awarded him 719 points. The sophomore added to his point total in the second event, the long jump, when he cleared 6.89m (22-7.25) for 788 points and ninth place among his competitors.

Addie Bracy was also in action for the Tar Heels on Friday as she raced in the 5000. The senior finished in a time of 16:41.46 which placed her 15th in the event.

Moss, Fofanah Lead No. 23 Georgia Tech on Day One of NCAA Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Shantia Moss placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles to lead the 23rd-ranked Georgia Tech women's track and field team on the first day of the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

Moss, a senior from Tamarac, Fla., ran a time of 8.08 seconds in the 60m hurdles to earn five points for the Yellow Jackets at the championship meet. The reigning 2007 60m hurdles NCAA Champion finished .14 seconds behind the winner.

Fatmata Fofanah, a senior from Bronx, N.Y., placed seventh in the hurdles event. Fofanah, who finished with the second-best time in the prelims (8.04), crossed the line in 8.13 to earn two points for the Jackets.

The Tech women closed out the first day in 17th place with seven points at the championship meet.

Georgia Tech's Marcelle, Lemons Compete on Day One of NCAA Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Steve Marcelle and James Lemons II competed for the Georgia Tech men's track and field team on the first day of the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

Marcelle, a sophomore from Green Bay, Wis., placed 13th in the men's shot put. Marcelle tossed the shot put 57 feet, 7 ½ inches, just three inches off of eighth place at the championship meet.

Lemons, a senior from Atlanta, Ga., finished 11th in the long jump with a mark of 24 feet, 11 inches. He will be back in action Saturday in the triple jump beginning at 5:30 p.m. Sophomore Alphonso Jordan will also be competing in the triple jump Saturday.

Maryland's Berger Competes at NCAA Indoor Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Senior Dominic Berger placed 11th in the preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships today hosted by the University of Arkansas.

Berger, a three-time All-American, had a time of 7.83 in the event. He missed qualifying for the event finals by only .07 seconds. Today's competition marks the fifth-straight national championship trip for Berger, counting both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Last week at the IC4A Championships, Berger ran a Boston University-facility record of 7.25 in the 55-meter hurdles, matching his career-best mark in the event.

Miami's Harris Advances to NCAA Finals in 800-Meters

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Miami's Tim Harris will have the opportunity to become the program's second NCAA National Champion after advancing to the 800-meter finals at the University of Arkansas' Randal Tyson Track Center.

Harris finished second in his preliminary run, guaranteeing a spot in the tomorrow's final, with a time of 1:49.65. Harris may join former Hurricane Davian Clarke as the only UM student-athlete in program history to win a national championship. Clark won the indoor 400-meters in 1998 and the outdoor 400-meters in 1996. Harris will run tomorrow at 8:35 p.m. in his championship effort.