April 19, 2008

View the Complete List of Outdoor Track and Field Results

Friday, April 18th, 2008

NWC CHAMPIONSHPS: Whitworth's Stelzer, Willamette's Winger Sets NWC Records on Day One

Day 1 Results / Day 2 Heat Sheet

NEWBERG, Ore. - Cody Stelzer of Whitworth University set a new conference record in the high jump, pacing his team to a slim lead over defending men's champion Linfield College, while Willamette University's Jena Winger broke her own steeplechase record to lead her team in its bid for a seventh straight women's title to a sizeable advantage over Whitworth on the first day of action in the Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships Friday here at George Fox University's Colcord Memorial Field.

With seven events scored (four field events, two distance races, and the heptathlon two weeks ago), Willamette's women have amassed 76 points to 45 for Whitworth.  Host George Fox is third with 35.50 points, followed by the University of Puget Sound with 34, Linfield with 31, Pacific Lutheran University with 20, Lewis & Clark College with 16, and Pacific University with 15.50.

After seven completed events in the men's division (four field events, two distance races, and the decathlon two weeks ago), Whitworth has 72 points to 61 for Linfield, with Willamette a close third with 58.  George Fox holds down fourth place with 34 points, followed by Puget Sound with 26, Pacific with 19, Pacific Lutheran with 2, and Lewis & Clark with 1.

Stelzer cleared 6-10.75 / 2.10m to break the former NWC high jump record of 6-10.25 / 2.09m set by Travis Olson of Linfield on May 2, 1997.  Stelzer missed NCAA automatic qualifying status by one-quarter of an inch.  Josh Lovell of Linfield and Carson Bartlett of Pacific both cleared 6-7 / 2.01m, hitting NCAA provisional status exactly.

In other men's field events, Jeff Kintner of Whitworth edged teammate Michael Nahl in the shot put 49-7.75 / 15.08m to 49-5.5 / 15.07m.  Bartlett won the long jump comfortably over Pete Van Sant of Puget Sound 22-5.75 / 6.85m to 21-8 / 6.60m.   Whitworth took the top two spots in the javelin as Joey VanHoomissen threw 196-2 / 59.80m and Kory Kemp threw 193-6 / 58.97m.  Grant Piros of Willamette was third at 188-3 / 57.37m, all three topping the NCAA provisional mark. 

In the men's distance races, Taylor Roholt of Willamette won the 3,000 meter steeplechase over Chris Isaac of Linfield 9:29.9 to 9:32.3.  The 10,000 meter run went to Ian Batch of Willamette over Francis Reynolds of Puget Sound 31:18.8 to 31:26.8. 

In the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase, Winger topped Brittany Hodgson of PLU 10.46.5 to 10:53.8, breaking her old mark of 10:52.71 set last year on April 20.  It was also a new Colcord Field record, surpassing the 11:16.64 by Jill Salmon of Portland State University on May 12, 2002.  Both Winger and Hodgson bettered NCAA provisional status, Winger missing automatic status by two-and-a-half seconds, while Casey Stepan of Linfield hit the provisional time of 11:13.00 exactly. 

Sarah Zerzan of Willamette, the NCAA Division III cross country champion back in the fall, took the 10,000 meter run and made NCAA provisional status over Marci Klimek of Linfield 37:37.5 to 37:44.6. 

In the women's field events, Brooke Carstensen of Linfield and Sarah Curry of George Fox both cleared 11-0.75 / 3.37m in the pole vault, but Carstensen needed fewer attempts and took home the title.  Christina Edholm of Willamette won the shot put over Karen Chase of Puget Sound 37-0.25 / 11.46m to 37-3 / 11.35m.  Angie Miller of Pacific captured the long jump over Kristen Dormaier of Whitworth 17-7.5 / 5.37m to 17-3.25 / 5.26m, while the javelin was won by Roxanne Gilbride of Lewis & Clark over Brooke Smith of Willamette 132-10 / 40.48m to 129-8 / 39.53m.  Both Gilbride and Smith made NCAA provisional qualifying status in the javelin.

Championships in the sprints and hurdles will be held Saturday after Friday's preliminary heats.  Women's leaders going into the finals include Melissa Leighty of George Fox in the 100 meter dash (12.66) and the 200 meter dash (26.33), in the 400 meter dash, Rachel Giffey-Brohaugh of George Fox in the 800 meter run (2:25.88), Elizabeth Mattila of Whitworth in the 100 meter hurdles (15.42), and Faven Araya of Pacific Lutheran in the 400 meter hurdles (1:04.25).  

Men's leaders after Friday are Scott Vanassche of Linfield in the 100 meter dash (11.15) and the 200 meter dash (22.66), Garrett Blizzard of George Fox in the 400 meter dash (50.30), Brandon Howell of Whitworth in the 800 meter run (1:56.26), Ben Spaun of Whitworth in the 110 meter hurdles (15.18), and Drew Lackman of Willamette in the 400 meter hurdles (56.43).

Saturday's finals begin at 10:30 a.m. with several field events, including the men's discus, pole vault and triple jump, and the women's hammer and high jump. Awards ceremonies are scheduled for 3:30 p.m.; If the weather is bad, the awards will be presented inside Miller Gymnasium in the adjacent Wheeler Sports Center.

Links to the complete results of the first day of competition in the Northwest Conference Championship are available on the George Fox track and field web site at www.georgefox.edu/athletics/track/index.html.

Busby Qualifies for NCAA Regional at Larry Ellis Invitational

Results

PRINCETON, N.J. - Sophomore Dan Busby tallied a second-place finish and NCAA Regional qualifying time of 14:09.14 in the 5000m run on Friday at the Larry Ellis Invitational. The Orange boasted five qualifying performances for the ECAC and IC4A Championships, and six student-athletes received invites to the BIG EAST Championship.

Busby becomes the seventh member of the Orange to qualify for the NCAA Regional, held May 30 - 31 in Tallahassee, Fla. He joins teammate Jeff Scull as Syracuse's second qualifier for the 5000m run. Scull tallied the standard time with a seventh-place finish and time of 14:02.39 at the Stanford Invitational.

Sophomore Jay Koloseus finished eighth in the 5000m run with an IC4A-qualifying time of 14:31.37.

Sophomore Curtis Bixler improved upon his previous IC4A-qualifying performance (9:17.06) in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing eighth with a time of 9:14.33. Rookie Michael Brocks finished 12th with a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 9:30.69. Senior Kyle Heath, the program's record holder in the event and currently ranked second nationally (8:48.60), tuned up for the end-of-season stretch with a 16th-place finish and time of 9:23.53.

Junior Nana Sang-Bender made her outdoor debut in emphatic fashion with an ECAC-qualifying time of 4:31.44 and 12th-place finish in the 1500m run. Sang-Bender has been rehabbing a minor injury and has not competed in nearly three months since the Penn State National Open indoor meet on January 26.

Teammate Maegan Krifchin finished 14th with an ECAC-qualifying time of 4:32.16. Rookie Liz McCarter tallied a 27th-place finish and qualified for the BIG EAST Championship with a time of 4:38.37.

Freshman Catherine DeSarle qualified for the ECAC Championship with an eighth-place finish and time of 17:20.07 in the 5000m run. She improved upon her previous time of 17:27.23 set at the Sam Howell Invitational.

Senior Meghan Rowcliffe continues a solid outdoor campaign in the 3000m steeplechase, bettering her previous BIG EAST-qualifying time (11:12.14) by more than 14 seconds with a fifth-place finish and time of 10:58.07. Sophomores Lynne Mundy (11:05.22) and Stefanie Slekis (11:21.84) also totaled conference-qualifying marks with sixth and ninth-place finishes, respectively.

In field action, sophomore Ryan Johnson posted the Orange's top mark of the season with a toss of 38.79m in the discus throw. Sophomore Monica Ridgeway finished 10th (36.85m) in the discus throw and 15th (42.86m) in the hammer throw.

The Orange returns to William Weaver Stadium on Saturday for day two of the Larry Ellis Invitational. Action begins at 11:00 a.m. with the men's hammer throw.

Missouri Tiger Nick Adcock Claims Victory at Kansas Relays
Sophomore wins decathlon with meet-best since 1997

Results

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Missouri sophomore Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo. / Oak Park HS) claimed victory Thursday in the men's decathlon at the Kansas Relays, posting a personal best 7,329 point total in earning an NCAA-provisional qualifying mark that ranks in the NCAA's top 10 among marks entering the weekend. In addition, Adcock claimed the highest score in the meet since 1997. Tiger frosh Lars Rise was runner-up to Adcock by only 19 points in his first decathlon at Mizzou with a score of 7,310, also a top-10 mark among collegians this year.

After starting the second day of competition Thursday ahead of his personal-best pace, Adcock, along with Rise and the other competitors battled challenging gusts, unseasonably-low temperatures, and a pesky drizzle to cap their 10-event venture.

With a wind-aided 14.44 clocking in the 110-meter hurdles, Adcock started the second day on the right foot with a would-be PR. After the discus, Adcock's lead over teammate Rise narrowed as Rise marked a personal best 145 foot, 4 inch (44.30m) toss in the discus. The weather was a huge factor in the pole vault, the decathlon's eighth event. Despite the conditions, Rise cut the lead again with a near eight-inch all-time best with a 14-8 (4.47m) clearance.

Rise would take the lead after the javelin where he managed a throw of 168-6 (51.37m).

In the final event, the 1500-meter run, all competitors faced a steady rain and an impending thunderstorm. In a determining moment, Adcock clocked 4:36.17 to best his old PR by over a second in retaking the lead and the crown.

Junior Chris Rohr took second in the men's hammer throw with a personal best toss of 216-6 (65.98m), a mark that improves his status in the national top 10 in the event. Senior Jason Morris would take third at 202-1 (61.60m) while Tyler Dailey took fourth at 198-2 (60.40m).

After a thunderstorm and a lengthy delay, drenching rains greeted Thursday night's session. Senior Kasey Kimball prevailed in winning the unseeded section of the women's 1500-meter run at 4:41.41.

In the women's hammer throw that had to be suspended and ended under twilight, junior Krishna Lee took third with a season's best of 193-6 (58.99m), a mark worthy of improvement with in the nation's top 25.

During competition Friday, freshman Ryan Blackwell qualified for Saturday's finals of the 400-meter dash with a 48.80 clocking in winning his heat from the inside lane.

The men's 4x400-meter relay squad qualified for tomorrow's final with a 3:18.00 run. Mizzou's 4x100-women's team qualified as well for their final.

Tomorrow will wrap the 81st Kansas Relays. In addition, some middle-distance runners will compete tomorrow in the Arkansas Invitational.

Carrizales, Parr and Crofford Run Regional-Qualifying Times at Mt. SAC Relays

Walnut, Calif. - After a productive day one on Thursday at the 50th annual Mt. SAC Relays the Husker distance squad returned on Friday with the mindset of running at the top of its game at one of the most tradition rich meets in the nation.

With Joslyn Dalton earning a regional-qualifying time in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Thursday, teammate Rachel Carrizales took to the track on Friday with the goal of improving her regional time in the same event. Carrizales finished 14th overall in a competitive invitational field at 10:28.97. Her time would have given her the top time in the college division on Thursday and it knocked 19.65 seconds off her regional-qualifying time. Carrizales' new time will move her from No. 12 in the Midwest Region to No. 6.

Brian Parr followed up Carrizales' performance with an NCAA Regional-qualifying performance of his own in the collegiate division of the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with an eighth-place time of 9:04.31. Parr is the first Husker athlete on the men's side to qualifier for the 3,000-meter steeplechase this season.

Freshman Lara Crofford finished off the night for the Huskers in dramatic fashion as she easily qualified in the 5,000 meters, running 24.27 second under the regional-qualifying standard. Crofford's third-place finish of 16:27.73 is the fourth-fastest 5,000 time all-time outdoors at Nebraska. The time also ranks her No. 8 in Division I and No.1 in the Midwest Region this year. Crofford has now regionally qualified in the 5,000 meters and provisional qualified in the 10,000 meters for the NCAA meet.

The Huskers will now travel to Norwalk, Calif., for the Long Beach Track and Field Invitational on Saturday. On the women's side Carrizales, Dalton, and Ari Goldstein will compete in the women's 1,500 at 12:50 p.m. (Central) while Jen Pancoast and Natalja Zarcenko will compete in the 800 meters at 3:35 p.m. On the men's side Brian Parr will compete in the 1,500 meters at 1:10 p.m. and Peter van der Westhuizen will run the 800 meters at 3:45 p.m. As of Friday night live results will not be available so check www.huskers.com for a full recap.

Durham ahead of school record pace
Abdur-Rahim, Mosley hold big Travis McKinley multi-leads

Complete Results | Event-by-Event Results

ALAMOSA, Colo.- Adams State College junior Wayne Durham (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) is ahead of his school record pace in the decathlon while ASC Elite athletes Mustafa Abdur-Rahim and TiaNiecia Mosley hold big leads after the first day of competition of the multi-events at the Travis McKinley Open, which started in nearly perfect weather conditions, Friday afternoon here at Rex Stadium.

Durham, who set the school and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record last May with 6,939 points scored 3,847 in Friday's five events, 53 more than he had in the first five disciplines last year.

The only man ahead of him is Abdur-Rahim, who fared best in four of the five events while racking up 4,184 points, just 21 fewer than he had en-route to a Rex Stadium record of 7,510 set in last year's meet, the 21st annual named in honor of the former ASC track star killed in a 1986 car accident.

Daniel Patton, also representing ASC Elite stands third with 3,786 points while Grizzly junior Jason Mannerberg (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is fourth with 3,640 ahead of three Western State College athletes.

Mosley, a former Grizzly great and the 2006 NCAA Division II heptathlon champion, fared best in three of the four women's events on Friday and leads the 8-athlete field with 3,130 points.  ASC sophomore Amanda Gylling (La Jara, Colo.), a returning national championship qualifier, was the top shot putter and is second overall with 2,896 points.

Gylling finished second to Mosley in the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump and the 200 meters and is nearly 500 points clear of third place Chelsea Murray of Western State, who tallied 2,399 points.

New Mexico Highlands' Kietta Torres is fourth with 2,292 points while Western State's Jessica Banes and Cassie Mielke surround Grizzly junior Sarah Lamb (Creede, Colo.), who had two outdoor career bests while recording 1,969 points.

Western State's Kristina Gould rounds out the field with 1,673 points.

Durham, in search of a NCAA Division II National Championship automatic qualifying standard of 6,920 points, and Abdur-Rahim and Patton, looking for spots in this summer's United States Olympic Trials, were certainly the class of the field.

Abdur-Rahim never trailed as he won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.72 seconds before finishing best in the long jump with a mark of 7.22 meters (23'8 ¼').  He then took the shot put with a heave of 14.29 meters (46'10 ¾") before Durham, who had a career best throw of 12.93 meters (42'5 ¼") to finish second, cleared a career-high 1.97 meters (6'5 ½") to win the high jump.

Abdur-Rahim then won a quick 400 meters with a time of 48.22 seconds while Patton took second to close out the day in 49.28 seconds.

Mosley was nearly as dominant as she took the 100-meter hurdles in 14.32 seconds before winning the high jump with a clearance of 1.65 meters (5'5").  Gylling then took the shot put with a mark of 10.52 meters (34'6 ¼") before Mosley won the 200 meters in 25.23 seconds, a second faster than Gylling.

Lamb set an outdoor career best in the shot put and then an all-time best in the 200 meters as she registered marks of 9.29 meters (30'5 ¾") and 28.69 seconds.

The second day of competition will begin Saturday at 1 p.m.

Washington State School Records Fall at Mt. SAC Relays

Results

WALNUT, Calif. - Washington State University senior Meghan Leonard broke the WSU women's steeplechase record and Marissa Tschida broke her own freshman school javelin record Friday during the second day of the 50th Annual Mt. San Antonio College (SAC) Relays.

Leonard (Newberg, Ore.) claimed the WSU women's steeplechase school record as she ran-down her teammate and the reigning Cougar record-holder, Sara Trané (Sweden), in the final 20 meters of the Olympic Development race.  Leonard ran an improved NCAA Regional Qualifying and lifetime-best time of 10 minutes, 16.36 seconds for third place while Trané, the defending Pac-10 champion who is coming off several months of limited competition because of injury, ran a time of 10:16.75 for fourth place.  Another Coug, Collier Lawrence (senior, Reno, Nev.), finished eighth in a time of 10:32.23, an NCAA RQ mark but not as fast as her finish at Stanford two weeks ago.  Leonard, Trané and Lawrence now rank first-to-third, respectively, on the WSU top 10 all-time list.

In the men's 3000m steeplechase Olympic Development race, WSU's Alex Grant (senior, Bellingham, Wash.) shattered his PR time with an NCAA RQ time of 8:59.28 for sixth place.  Grant came into the meet with a lifetime-best time of 9:03.73, run last year.

Tschida (Missoula, Mont.) broke her own freshman school javelin record Friday by winning her section with a toss of 161-8 (49.28m).  Tschida has thrown an improved NCAA RQ javelin mark in three different meets this season.  In addition to being the WSU freshman record, her Friday toss is the third-best women's javelin throw in school history.

Jeshua Anderson won the men's 400m dash in an NCAA RQ and PR time of 46.54, the sixth-best time in WSU men's history.  The last time a Cougar man ran into the WSU top 10 list for the 400m dash was in 1990 (Michael Joubert, fourth-best time of 45.89).

Decathlete Rickey Moody (senior, Puyallup, Wash.) ran a PR time of 14.41 for second place in the men's 110m hurdles university/open section.

Princess Joy Griffey (sophomore, Federal Way, Wash.) ran a season-best and NCAA RQ 100m dash time of 11.72w for third-place in her section.  She also finished eighth in the 200m dash with another season-best but wind-aided time of 24.18w.

Sophomore Nathan Bache (Thompson Falls, Mont.) threw the javelin an NCAA RQ mark of 205-2 (62.55m) for second place in his section.  Bache threw a PR and better NCAA RA mark of 206-3 (62.87m) last weekend in Los Angeles.

In races held late Thursday night, Dan Geib (sophomore, Reno, Nev.) ran a 10,000m PR time of 30:18.10 for 15th place.  The men's 5000m race found Chris Williams 11th in a time of 14:28.76 and Dominic Smargiassi 21st with a time of 14:40.76.

The Mt. SAC Relays competition for the Cougars will continue Sunday, April 20.

-www.wsucougars.com-

North Carolina State Men's Track & Field Leads ACC Championships

Men's Results | Women's Results

ATLANTA, Ga. - The NC State men's track and field team leads the ACC Outdoor Championships heading into the final day of competition in Atlanta, Ga. A day after Stephen Furst won the 10,000m, NC State racked up numerous All-ACC honors with top-3 finishes on top of having three athletes advance to finals on Saturday. Tibor Vegh led a trio of Wolfpack finishers with a second place showing in the steeplechase, and ACC Indoor Champion Dexter Adams finished second in the long jump to earn All-ACC accolades to lead the Pack.

Vegh finished second and John Martinez was third in the steeplechase to earn All-ACC honors and set NCAA Regional Marks. Gavin Coombs was fourth, as he hit a NCAA Regional Mark, as well. All three athletes are now ranked on the top-10 Wolfpack performers lists all-time in the event.

Adams was second in the long jump with a distance of 25'09.25", his outdoor personal-best, to earn All-ACC honors. Adams won the ACC Indoor long jump title earlier this year and finished sixth nationally to earn All-America accolades.

Jason Jones finished fourth in the shot put (57'01.50") and Eric Davis was sixth in the high jump (6'07.00"), a season-high for the Wolfpack in the event.

Kevin Hutton was third in the prelims of the 400m hurdles to advance to Saturday's final, while Reggie Reese and A'Tolani Akinkuotu will advance to finals in the 100m.

Coastal Carolina Men's Track and Field Second After Day Two of Big South Champs

Complete Meet Results

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Coastal Carolina's men's track and field team is in second place with 51 points after the Day Two of the 2008 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships presented by Mondo and UCS held Friday, April 18 at Irwin Belk Track Complex. Two Chanticleers earned All-Conference honors in the second day's competition, bringing Coastal's total All-Conference honors to four.

Sophomore Jack Hutchison (Chester, Md./Kent Island) earned All-Conference honors in the decathlon by finishing second with 6,264 points. Classmate Steven Harmon (Columbia, S.C./Irmo) also picked up All-Conference honors with a third-place finish and 5,687 points. Also scoring in the decathlon was sophomore Alex Levy (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley), who recorded 5,279 points and placed eighth.

Both senior Jake Edelman (Dryden, N.Y./Dryden) and redshirt junior Chris Abercrombie (Mauldin, S.C./Mauldin (Charleston Southern)) scored points in the shot put. Edelman finished fifth in the shot put with a throw of 49'11.25"
(15.22m), while Abercrombie threw 47'0.25" (14.33m) and placed eighth.

Sophomore John Heron (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) scored points in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, placing seventh with a time of 9:42.43.

Four Chanticleers advanced to event finals on Saturday by qualifying in Friday's prelims with junior Tyrone Murphy (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) and sophomore Jerome St. Bernard (Markham, Ontario, Canada/McGivney (Monmouth)) each qualifying for two events. Murphy's ran the fastest time in the 400-meter hurdle trials, clocking 53.62, and then was fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.15. Meanwhile, St. Bernard reached the finals in both the 100-meter dash and the 200 metes after his time was one of the top two fastest times following the automatic qualifiers. He ran 10.78 in the 100 meters and then raced 21.95 in the 200.

Junior Jarvarius Phelps (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) also qualified for the 400-meter dash finals by placing sixth in a time of 49.29.

In the 100-meter prelims, freshman Ryan Edlich (Virginia Beach, Va./Bishop
Sullivan) ran 10.84 and finished second in his heat in order to automatically qualify for Saturday's finals.

Liberty leads the team scores after the Day Two with 98 points.

The final day of the 2008 New Balance Big South Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 19.

FSU Track And Field Brings Home Three Titles on Day Two Of ACC Championships
Gunn breaks track record to win steeplechase, Williams & Makusha take long jump crowns

Men's Results | Women's Results

ATLANTA, Ga. - If the Florida State men's track and field team is going to wins its fourth Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor title in a row, it's going to need some of the last day magic it has used to capture the last two NCAA Outdoor Championships.

After two days of competition, the Seminoles - who have won the last seven ACC track titles and nine of the last 10 - find themselves in third place after Friday's (April 18) action at the at George C. Griffin Track on the campus of Georgia Tech. FSU has 38 points, which is 15.5 behind leader NC State and 10 back of North Carolina. The Seminoles are a point ahead of Clemson.
"We're a little disappointed with the men," FSU head coach Bob Braman said. "We're a few strides, a few gut checks, a few squeezing it out at the end efforts from being in the driver's seat. We shouldn't be wondering about what's going to happen tomorrow.

"Now you put yourself in a position where you get a key injury or something weird happens then all of sudden you don't win the meet, no matter how hard your kids compete. We put ourselves in harm's way and we are too good of a team to do that."

While they are in fifth place with 32.5 points, the women's team is only six points from moving up to third. Virginia Tech continues to lead the meet with 72 points, followed by Virginia at 45.

"The women had a really good day, they did about as good as we could expect," Braman added. "The women didn't leave a lot out there, they got after it pretty well. Kim had a lifetime best to win the long jump; we have half the field in the 400m and the top two in the 800 so those are just some of the great performances today."

Highlighting Friday's action was a trio of championships performances. Senior Luke Gunn (Derby, England) broke the track record with a winning time of 8:38.33 that is the fastest time in the country so far this season. Classmate Mark Buckingham (Huddersfield, England) took fifth with a regional qualifying time of 9:00.12.

The Seminoles won the long jump in both the men's and women's meets by a pair of freshman. Ngoni Makusha (Mandedza, Zimbabwe) took the men's title while Kim Williams (Kingston, Jamaica) took the gold in the women's meet after a runner-up showing during indoors.

On his fourth attempt, the rookie launched a season-best jump of 7.91m/ 25-11.5 that ties the second-longest jump in school history and is the third best in the nation during outdoors. Makusha's jump is the longest since Joe Allen set the school record of 7.94 in 2001 and equals Mark Freeman from 1983 for the number two spot.

While she didn't' know it at the time, Williams won the long jump title during her first jump. The rookie had identical jumps of 6.30m/20-08.00 in her first two attempts. Her winning mark rates as the sixth-best jump in school history.

At the end of the day, the Seminoles added four new NCAA East Regional qualifying marks and improved on four others. Florida State advanced 20 runners, 10 from both teams, into Saturday's finals. 
On the men's side, the Seminoles top qualifying race of the day was the 200m dash. Running the event for the first time this season, sophomore Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, Va.) notched the eighth-best time in the nation with his top time of 20.78. Junior Michael Ray Garvin (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) came in second at 20.86 and rookie Brandon Byram (Gallatin, Tenn.) took fifth with a 21.00.
Even though FSU only had two runners in the women's 800m run it pushed both of them through to the finals. Posting the fourth fastest time in the nation this year was sophomore Hannah England (Oxford, England) with a time of 2:05.85 to earn the top spot for the finals. Coming in fifth during the prelims was Pilar McShine (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago) at 2:07.52.

The women's best event of the day was the 400m dash where FSU took half of the eight spots in the finals. Posting a career-best time of 53.61 was senior Dana Massiah (Arima, Trinidad and Tobago) to win her heat and finish second overall. Winning her heat and coming in fourth overall was senior Kandia Batchelor (Hillsborough, Fla.) in a season-best time of 54.66.

Running her best time of the season was freshman Brittany St. Louis (Arima, Trinidad and Tobago), who posted a 54.58 to qualify fifth. A spot behind her was senior Keyla Smith (Daytona Beach, Fla.) in a time of 54.70.

Florida State has two of the top four runners in the finals of tomorrow's 110m high hurdles. Senior Drew Brunson (Snellville, Ga.), who grew up 20 miles from Georgia Tech - won the prelims with a time of 13.77.  Coming in fourth was freshman Gonzalo Barroilhet (Santiago, Chile) at 13.97.

Sophomore Daniel Roberts (Vicksburg, Mich.) - who won the mile at the ACC Indoor Championships - posted a time of 3:49.07 to finish first in the 1500m run. Also getting into the finals was senior Chris Nickinson (Pensacola, Fla.) as he ran a career-best time of 3:50.33 to take sixth in the preliminaries. The women put one runner in the 1500m finals as Audrey Hand (Virginia Beach, Va.) ran a season-best time of 4:33.83 to win her heat and move on Saturday's final.

Getting closer to the form that made him an NCAA participant as a freshman, junior Javier Garcia-Tunon (Miami, Fla.) won the prelims of the men's 400m hurdles in a time of 51.75. Also making it to the finals was senior Elliott Wood (Sydney, Australia) in 52.10 that ranked him sixth.

The Seminoles also got two in the finals of the men's 800m run. Senior Tommy Noyes (North Canton, Ohio) won his heat and finished third overall at 1:51.13. Running the event for the first time this year, Andrew Krummins (Melbourne, Australia) posted a time of 1:50.62 that was the second fastest in the prelims.

Junior transfer Nicole Marcus (Tallahassee, Fla.) had the third-fastest time in the women's 100m dash. She ran a 11.72 to move on to Saturday. Getting the last spot in the finals of the 100m was freshman Teona Rodgers (Tampa, Fla.) with a time of 11.93.

The women got points out of the high jump from sophomore Tiara Swanagan (Orange Park, Fla.). She tied Clemson's Anastasia Wilson for fourth by clearing a height of 1.72m/5-07.75. The first competitor of the day for the Seminoles was junior Tim Reen (Jupiter, Fla.). He took eighth in the high jump, clearing a height of 2.01m/ 6-05.00 on his final attempt.

The final day of competition kicks off with Florida State's first competitors in action at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Live stats can be found at www.theacc.com.

Liberty Men Retain Lead, Women in Second at New Balance Big South Outdoor Track Championship

Complete Meet Results

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Liberty men's track & field team won all three events contested on Friday at the 2008 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, enabling the Flames to take a 47-point lead in the team standings. Meanwhile, Mia Aghaji's high jump title helped the Lady Flames bump up into second place in the meet being held at Winthrop's Irwin Belk Track in Rock Hill, S.C.

The Liberty men's squad has won four of the first six events at the Big South meet and holds a 98-51 advantage over second-place Coastal Carolina. Radford is third with 29 tallies.

On the women's side, Coastal Carolina is still atop the standings, after notching 99 points in the first eight events. Liberty is second with 64 points, just two markers ahead of Charleston Southern.

Liberty closed the evening with a bang, sweeping the top three positions in the last event, the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Evans Kigen (So., Eldoret, Kenya) and Jordan McDougal (R-Jr., Peru, N.Y.) finished first and second, respectively, both coming in under the previous meet-record time and the NCAA East Regional standard. Kigen is now the second-fastest steeplechase performer in program history after clocking an 8:52.90, and McDougal is fourth on Liberty's all-time list at 8:58.84. Jarvis Jelen (R-Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) claimed third place in a personal-best and IC4A-qualifying time of 9:08.36.

The Flames swept the top two spots in a competitive men's shot put competition, which saw the meet record eclipsed four times. Jon Hart (Sr., Wyomissing, Pa.) got the last laugh, defending his Big South crown and reclaiming his meet record with his final throw of 56-7.5. The title was Hart's second of the meet, after he prevailed in Thursday's hammer throw, also in meet-record fashion.

Liberty totaled 21 team points in the men's shot put, as Clendon Henderson (Sr., Meadow, Texas) came in as the runner-up for the second consecutive year. His best effort reached 55-11.75. Andrew Bartels (Jr., Grantham, Pa.) was sixth, throwing a 48-6.75.

The Flames also won the decathlon, traditionally a strong event for them. Daniel Newell (Jr., Roanoke, Va.) led from start to finish in the two-day, 10-event competition, finishing with 6,709 points. He is the third different Liberty athlete to claim the Big South decathlon crown in the last three seasons.

Liberty freshman Mia Aghaji (Chester, Va.) required only one jump to win the women's high jump crown. She entered the competition at 5-3.75 and cleared on her first attempt. Without any misses on the afternoon, Aghaji won out over three other athletes who were also successful at 5-3.75. She was additionally the Big South indoor high jump champion during her rookie season with the Lady Flames.

The first event to be completed on a sunny Friday afternoon was the heptathlon. Liberty freshman Krystle Matthews (Chesapeake, Va.) finished second to Coastal Carolina's Elisha Tegeder by 140 points, after briefly taking the lead with a solid javelin effort. Matthews, the Big South indoor pentathlon champion, scored 4,011 points. Classmate Jennifer Healey (Virginia Beach, Va.) added a fourth-place finish, with 3,773 tallies. She won the final discipline of the two-day, seven-event competition, the 800 meters, with a 2:29.96 clocking.

Sophomore Erin Hudson (Whitacre, Va.) claimed the first All-Big South honor of her career in the women's pole vault. Her season-best clearance of 9-5.75 garnered third place, and she edged Winthrop's Tori Lauten on misses.

A number of running event prelims were contested on Friday. Among the highlights was Durell Cull's (So., Rome, N.Y.) 100-meter dash time of 10.81, which was an IC4A qualifier and his best mark with a legal tailwind this season. As a result, he advanced to Saturday's event final. Additionally, Rebekah Ricksecker (Jr., Laurel, Del.) was the fastest qualifier to Saturday's 800-meter final, clocking a 2:13.70.

The third and final day of the 2008 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the women's javelin, men's discus, men's high jump and men's pole vault. Running events will get underway at noon, with the women's 4 x 100 relay.

Final Decathlon Standings:
1) Daniel Newell, Liberty - 6,709
2) Jack Hutchison, Coastal Carolina - 6,264
3) Steve Harmon, Coastal Carolina - 5,687
4) Tyler Tucker, VMI - 5,477
5) Matt Tarr, Liberty - 5,432
6) Kevin Richards, Radford - 5,377
7) Michael Munson, VMI - 5,339
8) Alex Levy, Coastal Carolina - 5,279

Final Heptathlon Results:
1) Elisha Tegeder, Coastal Carolina - 4,151
2) Krystle Matthews, Liberty - 4,011
3) Channel Futrell, Charleston Southern - 3,905
4) Jennifer Healey, Liberty - 3,773
5) Octavia Best, Charleston Southern - 3,605
6) Sheronica Henton, Liberty - 3,574
7) Mikaela Terry, Coastal Carolina - 3,402
8) Briauna Lowery, High Point - 3,199
9) Lauren Watts, Coastal Carolina - 3,021

Pryor and Clickett take ACC outdoor shot put titles Women's team in first place with 72 points

Men's Results | Women's Results

ATLANTA, Ga. - The seventh-ranked Virginia Tech women's track & field team maintained its first-place status at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships by adding 20 more points on the second day of the meet at the George C. Griffin Track & Field Facility on the campus of Georgia Tech.

The Hokie women got points from three different athletes, earned two All-ACC honors, and won a conference in one event. Their total of 72 points is still 27 points ahead of runner-up Virginia. On the men's side, Tech remains in seventh place with 25 points.

Reigning ACC Indoor Field Performer of the Year Brittany Pryor repeated as outdoor shot put champion with a mark of 51'7.75" (15.4m) to take the conference crown by 1'4" over Miami senior Khadija Talley. Pryor now has five conference titles in her career to go along with the two All-American honors she has earned in the shot put. Erika Schroeder turned in seasonal-best mark of 48'11.5" (14.92m) for fifth place.

"[Pryor] took care of business," Director of Track & Field Dave Cianelli said.
"It wasn't her longest throw of the season, but she did enough to get the win.
Erika also competed well, so I'm really proud of how our throwers performed."

Erin Reddan chalked up six more points for the Hokies with a school-record performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:35.82 to earn third place and the first All-ACC honor of her career. Tech's previous school mark was a time of 10:38.22 by Kristin Hart in 2006. Kelly Clark was 11th (11:25.96).

"[Reddan] had an incredible performance," Cianelli said. "For her to come through with a school-record time in the last event of the day was exceptional.
Especially since it was the last event of the day, it really gives us a lot of momentum heading into the rest of the meet."

Hokies were among two of the top three finishers in the preliminary race of the 100-meter hurdles, led by Queen Harrison's first-place time of 12.93 seconds, while Kristi Castlin ended up in third place with a time of 13.34 seconds while running against a 3.9 mile-per-hour. wind. Both athletes will compete in the final race tomorrow at 2:05 p.m.

Harrison also has the top time in the 400-meter hurdles heading into tomorrow's
3:15 p.m. final. The Richmond, Va., native completed the race in 56.57 en route to the top spot.

Tech took two of the top four spots in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash.
Britni Spruill finished second with a season-best-tying time of 11.71 seconds, followed in fourth place by Castlin, who registered a personal-best time of
11.79 seconds. Both athletes faced a -1.6 m.p.h. wind. The finals will be held tomorrow at 2:35 p.m.

The duo of Spruill and Castlin also competed in the 200-meter dash preliminaries. Spruill once again took second place with a time of 23.60 seconds, while Castlin battled a 2.2 m.p.h. wind for a 24.04-second effort and an eighth-place finish. Tomorrow's final will begin at 3:30 p.m.

Asia Washington registered a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter dash with a personal-best time of 2:08.37. Washington's effort gained her an appearance in tomorrow's 2:50 p.m. final. Freshman Kristy Tobin was the 24th finisher with a time of 2:24.27.

Tasmin Fanning led the way for Tech in the 1,500-meter race, crossing the finish line in 4:28.46 to earn fifth place in the preliminaries. Jessica Fanning immediately followed with a sixth-place finish in 4:33.99. Both will compete in the final race tomorrow at 1:40 p.m.

Shakirra Pinnock qualified for the final 400-meter race with a time of personal-record time of 54.89 seconds to take a seventh-place finish in the preliminaries.

Leading the way for the men's team was Justin Clickett, who won the shot put title with a season-best mark of 62'6.75" (19.07m). Clickett now has three career conference shot put titles, including the 2005 and 2006 BIG EAST Conference indoor titles. Igor Misljenovic finished sixth in the event with a distance of 53'11" (16.43m).

"[Clickett] competed very well today," Cianelli said. "The runner-up came through with a personal-record performance in the late rounds, so it was necessary for [Clickett] to step up and come through with that type of performance. It was a great competition."

A pair of runners qualified for the Hokies in the 1,500-meter race on the men's side. Billy Berlin placed third with a time of 3:50.12. Berlin just edged Eddie Judge, who took fourth with a personal-best time of 3:50.84. Berlin and Judge will compete in the finals of the event, which are scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. James Scheiner earned 13th place in a season-best time of 3:51.57.
Ryan Witt also established a season-best time and took 17th place (3:52.18), while Kyle Guglielmo was 38th (4:05.00).

Rider Clauss earned a point for the Hokies with an eighth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:11.37. Phil Padilla finished 14th with a time of 9:34.11.

Jeff Miller barely missed reaching the finals in the 800-meter dash with a season-best time of 1:52.39 for ninth place, .42 seconds away from advancing to tomorrow's race. Nick McLaughlin also had a season-best finish in 1:53.92 for 14th place, followed by Guglielmo's time of 1:56.77 to finish 21st.

Ebenezer Amegashie fell just short of qualifying for the finals of the 110-meter hurdles, completing the race in 15.19 seconds for a 10th-place finish. Amegashie then placed 16th in the preliminaries of the 400-meter hurdles in a time of
56.14 seconds.

Cedric Hudson took 15th place in the long jump with a mark of 20'5.25", then earned 17th place with a time of 11.29 seconds his season-debut in the 100-meter dash against a -0.4 wind. Hudson finished his day with a 20th-place effort in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.79 seconds.

"Everyone we planned to qualify for finals came through today," Cianelli said.
"And that coupled with the discus and men's pole vault coming up, I feel really good heading into the final day of the meet."

The final day of the ACC Outdoor Championships begins tomorrow with the men's discus at 10 a.m., and the men's 4x100-meter relay at 1 p.m.

-VT-

CAA Conference Host William and Mary Leads with 94 points

Men's Results | Women's Results

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William & Mary is in first place with 94 points after the first day of the 2008 CAA Men's Track and Field Championship. UNC Wilmington is second with 50.5 and Northeastern is third with 41. VCU is fourth with 36, followed by Delaware, George Mason and Georgia State.

William & Mary excelled in the distance events, winning the 5000m and 10,000m. The Tribe had the first five finishers in the 5000m, led by Patterson Wilhelm (14:27.8). Ben Massam won the 10,000m (30:39.80) and finished second in the 5000m (14:31.96). Wilhelm also posted the fastest time in the 1500m qualifying.

UNC Wilmington grabbed a pair of wins on Friday, including placing three in the top four in the pole vault. Colton Weaver won the pole vault with a jump of 4.75m (15-7). Aaron Wiggins cleared the same height but finished second due to more misses. Mike Schaefer finished fourth for the Seahawks, clearing 4.60m (15-1). Bruce Smith won the javelin with a hurl of 58.83m (193-0).

Delaware, George Mason and Northeastern each picked up wins on the first day of competition. Delaware's Connor Whitesel won the hammer throw with a 50.90 (167-0) effort. Mason's Dwight Webley won the long jump with a 7.26m (23-10) leap. The Huskies Ed Reardon won the discus with a 45.56m (149-6) toss.

The 2008 CAA Track and Field Championship concludes tomorrow with the finals in the sprints and middle distance events as well as relays, shot put, high jump, triple jump and decathlon.