Johnny Dutch of USA in action during the Men's 400m Hurdles heats (© Getty Images)
Austin, Texas, USAThis year’s version of the NCAA qualifying rounds saw huge fields (48 per event) converge on Greensboro, South Carolina, for universities East of the Mississippi, and Austin, for the Western section, to engage in three days of competition.
The quality of the performances was uneven, since the objective of the competing athletes was to finish in the first 12 positions in each event, for a total of 24 who will compete in the championships in Eugene, Oregon 9-12 June. But athletes being the competitive animals they are, there were a number of noteworthy performances.
Western Region
- Sprints and jumps (all times wind-ok, VERY unusual for Texas!). Temperatures: highs circa 32-34, lows circa 25.
MEN -
Gerald Phiri (ZAM) of Texas A&M led the 100 qualifiers with a 10.17 clocking, followed by his teammate, Curtis Mitchell, with 10.25. Mitchell, who may well be the sprinting find of the season, roared back to win the 200 in 20.23. Texas A&M’s Demetrius Pinder’s 44.93 led the 400 qualifiers, with 14 others running sub 46.
Mitchell and Phiri also ran two legs on the Texas A&M 4x100m Relay team which led the qualifiers with a good 39.05, And Mitchell finished his labors with a leg on A&M’s 3:01.89 4x400. (NOTE “A&M” stands for “Agricultural and Mechanical”, a relic of the late 1800s, when Texans were mostly farmers or cowboys.)
Andrew Wheating, a 1.96m tall University of Oregon senior, dominated the middle distance races. On Friday, he won his section of the 800 in 1:46.44, outkicking Ethiopian-born Sudanese (and now American) Charles Jock’s 1:46.67. On Day 3 (Saturday) Wheating came back to win a fast section of the 1500 in 3:37.52. Temperatures of 30 degrees C and up made the longer races jog-and kick affairs.
The best hurdles performance was by two-time NCAA champion Jeshua Anderson of
Washington State, who led all qualifiers with an excellent 48.65. Three long jumpers bettered eight metres: 8.05m by Texas’ freshman Marquise Goodwin; 8.04m by Oregon’s remarkable young decathlete Ashton Eaton, and sophomore Charles Phipps of Nebraska.
Shot putter Ryan Whiting’s 21.83m led all the shot putters by more than 2 ½ metres, and Texas Tech freshman Julian Wruck (AUS) threw the discus 58.70m to edge another freshman, Mason Finley of Kansas, who threw 58.28m.
WOMEN –
Porsche Lucas of Texas A&M 9 (11.18) and Blessing Okagbare (11.22) dominated the women’s 100m, and Lucas ran a quarter-final 200m sizzler of 22.72, only to be edged in the next race by teammate Jenobah Tarmoh’s 22.71.
Yet another Texas A&M runner Jessica Beard, led the 400, turning in less-than-all-out races of 51.25 and 51.35. The only other woman under 52 was Oregon’s Keshia Baker, at 51.60. Both were racing under wraps, with important relay legs still to run.
In the 4x100m Relay, Texas A&M won its section in 42.49, and Oregon won the other in 43.50. The 4x400 qualifiers were led by Oregon’s 3:30.23, anchored by Baker. In the other section a mostly-substitute A&M team, won in 3:32.89 thanks to Jessica Beard’s 50.6 anchor leg.
The women’s 100m Hurdles saw both tragedy and success for Texas A&M. Gabby Mayo of the Aggies with a 12.81 that left everyone else three metres adrift.
But her co-favored teammate, Natasha Ruddock (JAM), twisted a knee while warming up and had to withdraw, which means she’ll miss the NCAA, too.
Best field event performances came from a trio of long jumpers: Chantel Malone of Texas at 6.56m, Mindy McClurkin of Brigham Young at 6.54m, and Texas-El Paso’s Olympic bronze medalist Blessing Okagbare (NGR).
Eastern Region - Dutch improves to 48.12
The best performance in the East was notched by intermediate hurdler Johnny Dutch from the University of South Carolina. The 21-year-old, who took World junior silver in 2008, clocked a scorching 48.12 on Friday (28) night, improving on his previous personal best of 48.18 set last year. Dutch doubled back to produce the fastest performance in the 110m Hurdles on Saturday clocking 13.53.
Unlike in the west, windy conditions did play a key role in the sprints, which were considerably faster than in Austin. Auburn sophomore Marcus Rowland and Maurice Mitchell of Florida State led all qualifiers with a 10.04 (+2.6) dash, just a tad ahead of Kentucky senior Rondel Sorrillo, who finished third in 10.05.
Florida sophomore Jeff Demps had the quickest legal time of the weekend, clocking 10.06 (+1.3) in his heat. He also anchored Florida to the weekend’s fastest 4x100m Relay performance, a 38.81.
Four men dipped under 45.20 in the 400m, led by Mississippi State freshman Tavaris Tate (45.05). Calvin Smith Jr. was next quickest at 45.06, with Jamaican Dwight Mullings (45.12) and Alabama freshman Kirani James (45.17) not too far behind.
2008 Olympian Queen Harrison put in an impressive weekend, qualifying for the finals in both the 100m Hurdles – her 12.69 was the fastest of the meet – and the 400m Hurdles, where she clocked 55.07, second fastest among qualifiers.
The middle and long distances were predictably tactical affairs. The best performance came in the women’s 800m where University of Tennessee senior Phoebe Wright, the NCAA indoor champion, clocked a 2:00.87 personal best.
James Dunaway (in Austin) and Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
The quality of the performances was uneven, since the objective of the competing athletes was to finish in the first 12 positions in each event, for a total of 24 who will compete in the championships in Eugene, Oregon 9-12 June. But athletes being the competitive animals they are, there were a number of noteworthy performances.
Western Region
- Sprints and jumps (all times wind-ok, VERY unusual for Texas!). Temperatures: highs circa 32-34, lows circa 25.
MEN -
Gerald Phiri (ZAM) of Texas A&M led the 100 qualifiers with a 10.17 clocking, followed by his teammate, Curtis Mitchell, with 10.25. Mitchell, who may well be the sprinting find of the season, roared back to win the 200 in 20.23. Texas A&M’s Demetrius Pinder’s 44.93 led the 400 qualifiers, with 14 others running sub 46.
Mitchell and Phiri also ran two legs on the Texas A&M 4x100m Relay team which led the qualifiers with a good 39.05, And Mitchell finished his labors with a leg on A&M’s 3:01.89 4x400. (NOTE “A&M” stands for “Agricultural and Mechanical”, a relic of the late 1800s, when Texans were mostly farmers or cowboys.)
Andrew Wheating, a 1.96m tall University of Oregon senior, dominated the middle distance races. On Friday, he won his section of the 800 in 1:46.44, outkicking Ethiopian-born Sudanese (and now American) Charles Jock’s 1:46.67. On Day 3 (Saturday) Wheating came back to win a fast section of the 1500 in 3:37.52. Temperatures of 30 degrees C and up made the longer races jog-and kick affairs.
The best hurdles performance was by two-time NCAA champion Jeshua Anderson of
Washington State, who led all qualifiers with an excellent 48.65. Three long jumpers bettered eight metres: 8.05m by Texas’ freshman Marquise Goodwin; 8.04m by Oregon’s remarkable young decathlete Ashton Eaton, and sophomore Charles Phipps of Nebraska.
Shot putter Ryan Whiting’s 21.83m led all the shot putters by more than 2 ½ metres, and Texas Tech freshman Julian Wruck (AUS) threw the discus 58.70m to edge another freshman, Mason Finley of Kansas, who threw 58.28m.
WOMEN –
Porsche Lucas of Texas A&M 9 (11.18) and Blessing Okagbare (11.22) dominated the women’s 100m, and Lucas ran a quarter-final 200m sizzler of 22.72, only to be edged in the next race by teammate Jenobah Tarmoh’s 22.71.
Yet another Texas A&M runner Jessica Beard, led the 400, turning in less-than-all-out races of 51.25 and 51.35. The only other woman under 52 was Oregon’s Keshia Baker, at 51.60. Both were racing under wraps, with important relay legs still to run.
In the 4x100m Relay, Texas A&M won its section in 42.49, and Oregon won the other in 43.50. The 4x400 qualifiers were led by Oregon’s 3:30.23, anchored by Baker. In the other section a mostly-substitute A&M team, won in 3:32.89 thanks to Jessica Beard’s 50.6 anchor leg.
The women’s 100m Hurdles saw both tragedy and success for Texas A&M. Gabby Mayo of the Aggies with a 12.81 that left everyone else three metres adrift.
But her co-favored teammate, Natasha Ruddock (JAM), twisted a knee while warming up and had to withdraw, which means she’ll miss the NCAA, too.
Best field event performances came from a trio of long jumpers: Chantel Malone of Texas at 6.56m, Mindy McClurkin of Brigham Young at 6.54m, and Texas-El Paso’s Olympic bronze medalist Blessing Okagbare (NGR).
Eastern Region - Dutch improves to 48.12
The best performance in the East was notched by intermediate hurdler Johnny Dutch from the University of South Carolina. The 21-year-old, who took World junior silver in 2008, clocked a scorching 48.12 on Friday (28) night, improving on his previous personal best of 48.18 set last year. Dutch doubled back to produce the fastest performance in the 110m Hurdles on Saturday clocking 13.53.
Unlike in the west, windy conditions did play a key role in the sprints, which were considerably faster than in Austin. Auburn sophomore Marcus Rowland and Maurice Mitchell of Florida State led all qualifiers with a 10.04 (+2.6) dash, just a tad ahead of Kentucky senior Rondel Sorrillo, who finished third in 10.05.
Florida sophomore Jeff Demps had the quickest legal time of the weekend, clocking 10.06 (+1.3) in his heat. He also anchored Florida to the weekend’s fastest 4x100m Relay performance, a 38.81.
Four men dipped under 45.20 in the 400m, led by Mississippi State freshman Tavaris Tate (45.05). Calvin Smith Jr. was next quickest at 45.06, with Jamaican Dwight Mullings (45.12) and Alabama freshman Kirani James (45.17) not too far behind.
2008 Olympian Queen Harrison put in an impressive weekend, qualifying for the finals in both the 100m Hurdles – her 12.69 was the fastest of the meet – and the 400m Hurdles, where she clocked 55.07, second fastest among qualifiers.
The middle and long distances were predictably tactical affairs. The best performance came in the women’s 800m where University of Tennessee senior Phoebe Wright, the NCAA indoor champion, clocked a 2:00.87 personal best.
James Dunaway (in Austin) and Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
