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Indiana's Wilson, Wisconsin's Bairu And Michigan State's Krzyminski Place Third At NCAAs
June 11, 2004
AUSTIN, Texas - After Wednesday's opening session of the 2004 NCAA Men's and Women's Track & Field Championships were suspended due to severe weather, a full day of competition took place Thursday with many top performances by Big Ten student-athletes. Competition was highlighted Thursday by Indiana's Aarik Wilson's third-place finish in the long jump, a bronze finish for Wisconsin's Simon Bairu in the 10,000 meters, as well as Michigan State's Jamie Krzyminski's third in the same event. The following are brief recaps of each Big Ten school's performance on Thursday: ILLINOIS Freshmen Carlene Robinson and Cassie Hunt advanced to their respective event finals Thursday at the NCAA Championships. Hunt advanced in the 3,000m steeplechase while Robinson qualified in the 800m run. The pair were the only freshmen to advance in each of their races. Robinson clocked 2:06.30, just .05 seconds off her personal best, to finish eighth in the preliminary heats and qualify for Saturday's final. By doing so, the Manchester, Jamaica native becomes the first UI 800m runner to make the final field in the event since Tama Tochihara placed fifth in 1995. The top finisher in the heats was Kameisha Bennett of Tennessee who ran 2:03.83. Hunt ran 10:18.68 to finish ninth overall and fifth in her heat in the steeplechase to advance. The Roachdale, Ind. product, who is Illinois' first ever runner to qualify in the steeplechase, was the top Big Ten finisher and the only freshman to move on to the finals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDIANA
Junior Aarik Wilson, is nationally known for his performances in the triple jump, garnered his third All-American honor after taking a third-place finish in the long jump with a best 7.97m (26-01.75) for his first jump in the finals. This mark puts him third overall on the IU all-time list.
Hoosier senior Audrey Giesler advanced to the finals in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:24.67. Gielser looked strong from start to finish and maintained a great pace to put her12th overall in the prelims of this event. The finals for this event are scheduled for Saturday at 7:10 p.m. Big Ten 200 and 400-meter champion David Neville raced in the preliminaries for the 200m on Thursday. His time of 20.57 in the 200, which was his second fastest of the season, was second-best in his heat but sixth overall, missing the top-five cut for the finals. NCAA indoor champion miler Sean Jefferson, who has been hindered by several nagging injuries during the past few weeks, tried to fight through the pain, but fell behind and did not advance to the finals of the men's 1500-meters. The race got out to a fast start and Jefferson found himself behind the pack in a position where he could not catch up in the end. He finished 26th overall with a time of 3:57.48.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IOWA Three members of the University of Iowa men's and women's track and field teams competed Thursday, as Ken Kemeny saw action in the shot put, while Adam Hamilton threw in the hammer throw and Sarah Arens ran the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Hamiltonplaced third in his heat and seventh overall in the preliminaries of the hammer with a season and career best throw of 208-11 (63.68 meters). His throw qualified him for the event finals and ranks third on Iowa's all-time best list. Kemeny placed 15th in the shot put preliminaries with a toss of 59-5 ½ (18.12 meters). His mark barely missed qualifying for the finals. Sarah Arens placed 21st in the preliminaries of the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:40.08. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MICHIGAN Junior Lindsey Gallo placed third in the second heat of the 1,500-meter run prelims to advance to her first final in the event Thursday. Gallo led a majority of the race but was passed by heat winner Marina Muncan of Villanova along the final back stretch, then dropped to third coming into turn four of the final lap. Gallo coasted across the finish line in third place with a time of 4:16.67 to earn the third of four automatic spots for heat two into the event final. The Big Ten Conference and NCAA Mideast Regional 1,500-meter champion enters the final of the event as the No. 5 seed, with Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State pacing the field with a clocking of 4:11.64. Sophomore Andrew Ellerton qualified for the men's 800-meter run final after registering the event's fifth-fastest in the preliminary round. Clocking a time of 1:47.10 -- the second-fastest mark of his career -- Ellerton earned an automatic trip to the finals with a runner-up performance in the first heat of the event. After inclement weather wiped out yesterday's 800-meter preliminaries, the three-round format was shortened to just two rounds, with qualification going to the two top finishers from each of three heats as well as the next three fastest times.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MICHIGAN STATE Michigan State senior Jamie Krzyminski finished third in the 10,000-meter run late Thursday, with a time of 34:02.40. Her finish was just over four seconds behind defending champion and NCAA record-holder Alicia Craig of Stanford, who won the race in 33:58.27, and only nine hundredths of a second behind Florida State's Vicky Gill, who placed second. The trio, who were ranked 1-2-3 in the field entering the event, finished nearly 17 seconds ahead of the next fastest runner. Krzyminski earned All-American status for the third straight year thanks to her third-place effort, after finishing fifth in the 10,000 at last year's championships and seventh in 2002. Two other Spartans were in action Thursday, including senior Sherita Williams in the long jump (14th) and freshman Cynetheia Rooks in the 200 (24th). Michigan State senior Steve Manz finished 18th in the preliminaries of the shot put, and missed the top-12 cut for the finals. Manz entered the competition seeded fifth in the competition based on his school record through of 64-11 1/4 May 7 at the Len Paddock Invitational. However, after fouling on his first attempt, Manz was able to post a top throw of 58-9 1/2 which put him in 18th place. The men's track and field outdoor season has come to a close as Manz was the only member of the men's squad competing in Austin. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA Minnesota high jumpers John Albert and Kevin Netzer, shot putter Karl Erickson and the Golden Gopher 4x400-meter relay advanced to finals in preliminary action on Thursday. Albert and Netzer both cleared 7-1 1/2 inches. A total of 14 jumpers cleared the height and advanced to Saturday's finals. Albert earned All-America honors earlier this spring at the NCAA indoor meet, while Netzer will be chasing his first All-America citation. Erickson landed a throw of 62-0 1/2 in the shot put and stands in fourth place heading into Saturday evenings final. Erickson placed fifth to garner All-America honors in the event last season. He will also compete in the discus competition on Friday. The 4x400-meter relay, the national runner-up a year ago, was clocked with a season-best time of 3 minutes, 3.35 seconds. The time put up by the relay of Adam Steele, Robb Merritt, Mikael Jakobsson and Mitch Potter is also the second best relay time in school history. Sophomore Liz Alabi, one of two Minnesota women's track & field athletes to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, competed in the shot put preliminary competition on Thursday in Austin, Texas. Alabi placed 29th in her first NCAA experience with a throw of 45 feet, 5 inches. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OHIO STATE The Ohio State distance team had three representatives run in two events Thursday as senior Rob Myers clocked the second-best preliminary time in the men's 1,500-meter run at 3:46.58, falling just behind the top time of 3:46.39 turned in by Arkansas' Chris Mulvaney. The second distance event featured the junior tandem of Aaron Fisher and Brian Olinger in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Fisher, the No. 1 ranked steepler in the country (8:37.33) heading into the NCAA meet, moved on to the finals Saturday in a time of 8:46.99, the best in the steeple field. Olinger will join Fisher in the finals as he posted a qualifying time as well at 8:52.87 to claim the No. 7 seed. Senior Joel Brown entered the 110-meter field as the No. 1-ranked hurdler in the country with a time of 13.45 he clocked at the NCAA Mideast regional two weeks ago. In the preliminary heats of the event, Brown timed a 13.45 to claim the fourth-fastest time and earn a spot in the finals Friday evening. In the throws, two-time indoor national champion Dan Taylor threw in the first of two events Thursday in the prelim rounds of the hammer, placing third with a heave of 218 feet, 5 inches. Taylor won the Mideast regional hammer championship two weeks ago with a Big Ten and regional record of 223-8. Later in the evening, Taylor competed in the shot put as the No. 2-ranked thrower in the NCAA. He easily advanced to the finals, reaching a distance of 61-9.75 for fifth place in the qualifying round. Keturah Lofton, the Big Ten champion and record holder in the women's hammer throw, heaved a toss of 199-3 in the event to place 11th after the qualifying flight. Lofton will compete for her first outdoor All-America honor Saturday in the hammer finals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PENN STATE Connie Moore insured her 10th All-America honor and positioned herself for an NCAA title run as the senior qualified for the finals in both the 100 and 200-meter events. Moore matched her career-best with a wind-aided time of 11.21 in the 100 meters to finish third in a very fast heat. She will bring the seventh best time into Friday's nine-competitor final that includes one foreign born athlete, thus insuring Moore of being among the top-eight American finishers and earning the 10th All-America certificate of her illustrious career. Moore also cruised into the finals in the 200 meters, her strongest event, as she posted an easy qualifying time of 22.94. Moore, the two-time East Region champion in the event, finished third in the 200 meters at the 2003 NCAA Championships and has earned four All-America honors in the event indoors, including a third place finish this year. Senior Ja'nai O'Connor, the Big Ten shot put champion, fouled on her first attempt before getting a mark of 52-1 on her second in the shot put. Not among her best marks, O'Connor's toss placed her 17th in the competition and out of the finals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURDUE Three Boilermakers kept their dreams of a national title alive with performances good enough to qualify for event finals later in the weekend. Senior Keith McBride was second overall in the men's hammer, senior Shaun Guice tied 13 others for the top mark in the men's high jump, and junior Amber Ferner placed 11th in the women's 3000 steeplechase to earn spots in the finals. The finals for all three events are scheduled for Saturday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISCONSIN Sophomore Simon Bairu finished third in the 10,000 meters to lead the University of Wisconsin men's track and field team at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Bairu led four other Badgers to top 13 finishes. The Regina, Sasketchewan, native finished third in 29:57.24. Alistair Cragg of Arkansas won the race in 29:22.43 while Robert Cheseret of Arizona finished second in 29:26.51. Freshman Tim Nelson was 10th in 30:17.38 while sophomore Bobby Lockhart finished 11th in 30:19.26. Junior Tim Keller rounded out the UW finishers, crossing in 30:46.53 for 13th. Bairu, Nelson and Lockhart all earned All-America honors. The UW men's and women's teams also advanced three athletes to finals. Freshman Demi Omole advanced to the finals of the men's 100-meter dash. Omole finished third in his heat in a non-wind-aided personal best time of 10.19 seconds. His time is only one hundredth of a second off Michael Bennett's UW record of 10.18 set in 2000. Omole has the eighth fastest qualifying time for Friday's final. Auburn's Marc Burns has the fastest time of 9.99. Omole is the only freshman in the final field. Both of the UW's 1500-meter runners advanced -- Hilary Edmondson for the women and Josh Spiker for the men. Edmondson automatically advanced to Saturday's final by finishing second in her heat. She crossed in 4:17.54. Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State won the heat in 4:11.64, which is also the fastest qualifying time. Edmondson ranks sixth overall. Spiker also automatically advanced to Saturday's final by finishing fourth in his heat. He finished in 4:36.82 as less than half a second separated the top four finishers. Arkansas' Chris Mulvaney won the heat in 3:46.39. Spiker ranks sixth among finals qualifiers. |
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