June 11, 2009

Seminoles Enjoy Successful First Day At NCAA Outdoor Championships
The first day of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships proved to be successful for the Florida State Seminoles with next round qualification in nine events. FSU turned in five Top 5 finishes in Wednesday's competition at John McDonnell Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

Setting the tone early for the Seminole squads was long jumper Ngoni Makusha. The Mandedza, Zimbabwe, native earned fourth place in his first jump with a mark of 7.87m. Makusha hits the field Thursday for the finals at 5:45 p.m.

As the lone thrower to represent the women on the field, Allyn Laughlin showed her Garnet and Gold as she qualified for the finals with her shot put mark of 16.00m. The junior will hit the field Thursday at 4:45 p.m. as the only ACC competitor in the event. 

Tech perfect in opening day of NCAA Championships
All six Virginia Tech track and field athletes who competed on Wednesday qualified for their respective event finals in the first day of action of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

To start out the day, sophomore Marcel Lomnicky launched the second-best mark of the field in the prelims of the men's hammer throw to advance to the finals of the event. The Nitra, Slovakia native tossed a 226-00 in his first of three throws on the day.

In the women's hammer throw, sophomore Dorotea Habazin tossed a 205-07 to earn a bid into the finals. The Zagreb, Croatia native threw the second-best mark in her flight, and the fourth-longest toss overall. Joining Habazin in the event's finals will be senior Brittany Pryor, after the Niagara Falls, N.Y., native earned the ninth-best mark in the field. Pryor launched a 193-02 in her second throw of the competition. In both the men's and the women's hammer throw the top 12 finishers advance into the finals on Friday. 

Ford, 4x100m Relay Qualify for Finals at NCAA Outdoor Championships
Jacoby Ford qualified for the finals of both the 100m dash and 4x100m relay Wednesday to lead the Tiger track & field program at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Ford, who finished fifth last year in the 100m at the national meet, will be joined on the relay by Justin Murdock, C.J. Spiller, and Trenton Guy.

The 4x1 won the second heat to qualify for Friday's final, which will be at 7:15 PM (Eastern). Murdock got the group off to a great start, followed by a strong backstretch from Spiller. After what appeared to be a slower final exchange, Ford turned on the speed in the anchor leg to give the Tigers the victory with a time of 39.08.

This marks the second time in the last three years Clemson has qualified for the finals of the 4x1. The 2007 team of Travis Padgett, Corey Brown, Cowin Mills, and Spiller finished seventh at the NCAA Championships. Clemson was fifth-fastest during the preliminary round Wednesday. 

Marcelle, Miller Advance to Finals at NCAA Championships
Junior Steve Marcelle and senior Jerome Miller earned a spot in the finals of their respective events on day one of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Wednesday in Fayetteville, Ark.

Marcelle, who posted the fifth-best mark in the shot put prelims, advanced on his third and final throw of the day with a distance of 61'5.75". The Green Bay, Wisc. native qualifies for his first-ever outdoor finals. Marcelle will compete in the discus prelims on Thursday at 2 p.m., before returning to the pit for the shot put finals at 7:15 p.m. tomorrow evening.

After more than a three-hour delay due to inclement weather in the Fayetteville area, Miller and the high jumpers headed out for competition at 11:30 p.m. It took just two jumps for the Stafford, Va. native to advance through the prelims with a clearance of 6'10.75". Miller advances to the finals for the second time in his career. They will take place on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. 

Three Hurricanes Advance at National Championships
The 13th-ranked University of Miami women's track and field team endured a three-hour weather delay during the opening day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but saw three student-athletes advance into latter rounds at the University of Arkansas' McDonnell Track.

Three-time All-American Murielle Ahoure needed to place in the top-four in her semifinal heat of the 100-meter dash to advance to Friday's 8:35 p.m. final. At 11:55 p.m., the Bristow, Va. native did just that, placing fourth in the second and final semifinal heat with a time of 11.56 seconds. Her time was the fifth-fastest of the round.

Ahoure's semifinal appearance was made possible with her first-round performance earlier in the evening. The senior's heat winning time of 11.17 seconds was more than enough to move advance her to the next round. 

Three Cavaliers Advance in Opening Day of NCAAs
Despite a longer than anticipated wait to race, junior Stephanie Garcia fought off a three-hour rain delay and joined freshman Lance Roller and junior Meghan Briggs in advancing to the next round of their respective events on the opening day of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at McDonnell Field on the University of Arkansas campus. Sophomore Steve Finley completed his season finishing 21st overall in the 3000m steeplechase.

Prior to the delay, Roller kicked things off for the Cavaliers by running a personal-best 1:47.88 in the 800m. He finished fourth in his heat, but crossed with three other competitors within half-of-a-second of each other - led by Penn State's Ryan Foster's winning time of 1:47.57. Roller's time was good enough to advance him to tomorrow's semifinals though, giving him an opportunity to vie for a spot in the nine-competitor finals. The semifinal race kicks off tomorrow at 8:25 p.m., with the top three times from each heat and the next three best times advancing to Saturday's finals.

In the javelin, the first flight went off under perfect conditions, while Briggs' flight had to fight through a downpour of rain. Regardless of the weather though, Briggs held tough, throwing 160' 8" to claim the 10th best throw of the competition, while Anna Wessman from Texas-El Paso was the top qualifier out of the event with a mark of 181' 5". Briggs top-12 finish was good enough to advance her to her first-ever NCAA finals appearance, set to begin at 6:30 p.m., on Friday. 

Sossah In Good Position After Day One Of NCAAs
Mateo Sossah cleared 6-9 3/4 to tie a personal record in the high jump as he tallied 4,115 points in the decathlon to lead the Tar Heel contingent on day one of the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Sossah and Daniel Keller both hold top 10 spots after the opening five events in the decathlon, while sophomore Patience Coleman will move on in the high jump final on the women's side. Action resumes Thursday at 10:30 a.m. CT with the women's discus throw.

Sossah and Keller opened the day near the back of the pack in the 100-meter dash as Sossah ran an 11.31 for 793 points, while Keller edged his teammate by .02 seconds with an 11.29 for 797 points. The duo were right back in the competition after the long jump as both scored 800-plus point scores. The high jump was where the pair shined most with Sossah leading the 25-man field with a jump of 6-9 3/4 for 878 points, while Keller cleared 6-7 1/2 for 822 points of his own.

After five events, Sossah sits in fifth place just 252 points shy of Oregon's Ashton Eaton who owns the top score through five events at 4,367. Keller has kept close the entire competition with 3,985 points. 

Blackmon Advances to Semifinals of 800m at NCAAs
Angelina Blackmon advanced to the semifinals of the 800m run at the NCAA Championships with a time of 2:05.81. The meet is currently on going at the University of Arkansas through Saturday.

Blackmon was 15th to advance, and she will race in the semifinals on Thursday at 7:15pm local time before finals on Saturday. Her time was just three one-hundreths off of her school record pace that she set this season.

Lawanda Henry narrowly missed advancing in the shot put, falling just over one foot short with a throw of 50'11.00". Her school-record mark of 52'10.00" that she set earlier this season would have placed her eighth and advanced her into the finals. 

Deacons Finally Wrap-up Soggy Opening Day Of NCAA Championships
Despite the rain and a three-hour weather delay, it was a good opening day for Wake Forest on Wednesday at the 2009 NCAA Track & Field Championships at the University of Arkansas.

Junior Caroline Vaughn and senior Michael Bingham each advanced into the semifinals of their respective events while sophomore Anna Nosenko moved into the finals of the women's 5,000-meter run.

Vaughn got the night kicked off for the Deacon contingent as she finished fourth in her heat of the women's 400-meter hurdles in a time of 58.33. The top-3 runners from each heat automatically advanced to the semis and Vaughn snagged on the next three fastest times to fill out the 18-runner semifinals. 

Blue Devils Start Strong At NCAA Championships
Duke senior Tyler Clarke sits in 15th place after day one of competition in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Arkansas' McDonnell Field, with a total of 3,860 points after five events.

Clarke will resume action and complete the five remaining events tomorrow beginning at 2:30 p.m.

To start off the decathlon, Clarke took third in his heat and 14th overall in the 100m with a lifetime best time of 11.06, which was the fastest Duke time in the event this outdoor season. Second, Clarke took 20th in the long jump with his second-best lifetime performance in a decathlon long jump with a leap of 21-10. He was 14th in the shot put with a throw of 42-11.75, followed by a seventh-place tie in the high jump with a clearance of 6-6.25. He closed out the day with a 13th-place showing in the 400m, with a time of 50.01, which was faster than his time in the event at the ACC Championships earlier this season.

Terrapins Profit and Fredrick Advance On Day One of NCAA Championships ... Coming Soon