June 13, 2009

Lomnicky wins national championship in hammer throw
Freshman Marcel Lomnicky became Virginia Tech’s first track and field national champion since Spyridon Jullien in 2006, as the Nitra, Slovakia native won the men’s hammer throw on Saturday to highlight the third day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Lomnicky threw a career-best 235-06 in the event to out-distance the runner-up finisher by over three feet and capture the gold medal. Lomnicky, who earned All-America honors in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, won Tech’s third hammer throw national title in its history. Jullien garnered the first two with back-to-back victories in 2005 and 2006.

The women’s hammer throw started the pattern of All-America performances on the day for the Hokies. Sophomore Dorotea Habazin claimed Tech’s first All-America honor of the meet in the event. The Zagreb, Croatia native tossed a 214-11 in the finals to achieve fourth place and All-America accolades for the first time in her career. Habazin’s effort also added five points to the Hokie women’s team score. 

FSU's 4x100m Relay Runs Season-Best Time To Push Women Into Third Place On Day Three
The women’s 4x100m relay’s second-place finish highlighted Florida State’s day three of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships at the John McDonnell Field. The Seminole women ended the day holding strong in a three-way tie for third place with 20 points while the men are in 15th place with 11 points. Saturday’s final day of competition will begin at 11 a.m.

After qualifying for the final round on Friday with a time of 43.79, the women’s 4x100m relay group composed of Nicole Marcus, Candyce McGrone, Danielle Jeffrey and Teona Rodgers opened the track events early Friday night with an impressive sprint of 43.33 to earn second place. The quartet’s time is the Seminoles fastest relay time of the season and now sits as FSU’s third-best performance in school history. The second-place finish contributed eight points for the women.

The 2009 NCAA Long Jump Champion, Kim Williams, kicked-off the field events for the Garnet and Gold in the triple jump preliminary round where the sophomore finished in second place with a mark of 13.71m. Williams’ mark automatically qualifies her to battle in the final round Saturday at 1 p.m. 

Ti'erra Brown National Runner-Up in 400m Hurdles
Three Hurricanes competed for an individual national title Friday evening for the No. 13 University of Miami women's track and field team. Sophomore Ti'erra Brown led the way with a runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles at the University of Arkansas' McDonnell Track.

Brown and Takecia Jameson both competed in the 400-meter hurdle final after advancing through the two previous rounds. Brown ran the second-fastest time in school history with a time of 55.98 seconds, as she claimed her second USTFCCCA All-America accolade with the runner-up finish. Jameson who ran from the second lane, finished ninth with a time of 58.73 seconds.

At the 2008 championships, Brown placed eight in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.47. 

Clemson Finishes Third in 4x100m Relay Friday at NCAA Outdoor Championships
Clemson established a school record by one hundredth en route to a third-place finish in the men's 4x100m relay Friday evening at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at John McDonnell Field. Jacoby Ford also competed in the 100m dash, but finished ninth after pulling up midway through the race.

The 4x100m relay team finished in third place, its best finish in the event since 2002. Clemson's group of Justin Murdock, C.J. Spiller, Trenton Guy, and Ford posted a season-best, school-record time of 38.77. The exchanges were smooth for the Tigers, and Guy handed the baton to Ford in striking position. He quickly moved into a battle for the top spot, but Florida anchor Jeremy Hall ran strong in the final 25 meters to lead the Gators to the crown. LSU was the runner-up. Texas A&M initially placed third, but the Aggies were disqualified after their final exchange was well past the legal zone.

This is the ninth time Clemson has finished in the top five at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 4x100m relay. The Tigers have never won the event, but have three runner-up finishes to their credit.

Fourth-place Jump Earns Miller All-America Honors at NCAA Championships
Georgia Tech Senior Jerome Miller placed fourth in the high jump while earning All-America honors at the 2009 NCAA Track & Field Championships Friday at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark. Junior Alphonso Jordan qualified for the finals of the triple jump earlier on the day.

Miller, who earned the highest place on the podium ever by a Tech male in the high jump, cleared the bar on his first attempt at the 7'2.50" height. Down to the final four contestants at 7'3.75", Miller came very close to clearing what would be a school-record height but couldn't keep manage to keep the bar stable. His fourth-place finish is the highest by a Tech male performer since 1998, when Angelo Taylor placed first in the 400-meter hurdles and also joined Jonas Motiejunas, Tomas Motiejunas and Michael Johnson for a title in the 4x400-meter relay.

The Stafford, Va. native earns his second-career All-America honor and first since the 2006 season. He joins junior Steve Marcelle as Tech 2009 outdoor All-Americans. 

Briggs and Garcia Earn All-America Honors at NCAAs
Although severe thunderstorms altered the schedule of the third day of competition at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at McDonnell Field on the University of Arkansas campus, juniors Stephanie Garcia and Meghan Briggs fought to earn their first-ever All-America honors in the steeplechase and javelin, respectively.

In her first-ever appearance in the finals of the steeplechase, Garcia became the program’s second All-American in the event by improving upon her 16th-place finish from a year ago to take ninth this season. Garcia completed the race in 10:14.35 to join Dawn Cleary (2003) as the only Cavaliers to earn the national honor. Colorado’s Jenny Barringer won the event with a meet record time of 9:25.53.

Garcia, the 2008 ACC Champion in the steeplechase, finished her season with her first All-America honor and her third All-East Region honor. 

Bingham Advances To 400-Meter Final After Victory In The Semifinals
Senior Michael Bingham won his semifinal heat of the men's 400-meter dash and will seek his second national title on Saturday at the 2009 NCAA Track & Field Championships at the University of Arkansas.

Bingham came into the semifinals Friday evening with the 10-best time from the prelims and was slotted in lane three. He broke strong and was able to make up the stagger down the back straight away. As the field came off the final turn, the Bulington, N.C., native found himself with the lead and he held on to that lead down the final straightaway and cruised to the victory in a time of 45.28.

This was Bingham's second-fastest 400-meter race this season and he will bring the second-best time into the finals. The first heat winner, Jonathan Borlee of Florida State, crossed the line in 45.25. 

Davis, Ivy Move On At NCAAs
The third day of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships saw four Tar Heels in action led by sophomore Austin Davis in the triple jump and junior Vanneisha Ivy in the 100-meter hurdles. Davis and Ivy both qualified for the finals on Saturday where they will be joined by Dominique Jackson on the last day of the Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Davis opened his 2009 NCAA Championships on Friday with the preliminary round of the triple jump. The Durham, N.C., native finished third in his flight and fifth overall with his top jump of 53-1 1/2. Davis cleared a little over 50 feet in his first jump before committing a foul on his second jump before reaching 53-1 1/2 jumping from 22nd all the way to fifth and advancing to Saturday's final.

Vanneisha Ivy ran a 13.30 in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles on Thursday to advance to Friday's semifinals where she entered with the fifth-best time in the prelims. The Muncie, Ind., native ran even faster in Friday's semifinals as she clocked a 13.19 placing third in her heat and fifth overall once again. Ivy will look for her second All-America honor on Saturday when she runs the final at 12:52 p.m. CT. 

Fedrick Places Seventh in NCAA Semifinal
Michelle Fedrick of the University of Maryland finished seventh in her semifinal heat Friday in the women's 400 meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships being hosted by the University of Arkansas.

Fedrick, a Terrapin senior, ran 53.88 in her heat, but needed a top-four finish in her heat or the ninth-fastest time to advance to Saturday's final. Fourth place in her heat was 52.85, with a 53.00 clocking earning the final berth in the final.

Francena McCorory of Hampton won Fedrick's semifinal heat in 51.74 seconds.