Posted: May 31, 2006

Athletics: USATF News & Notes, Volume 7, Number 41

Gatlin, Davis Movin' on up in IAAF Rankings

The defending World and Olympic 100m champion, Justin Gatlin has now increased his lead by a single point in the Men's Overall Ranking after clocking 9.88 seconds (1,393 points) over the weekend to win the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. He is now five points clear of second placed Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.

Reigning World Indoor and Outdoor triple jump champion Walter Davis recaptured the lead in the Triple Jump Event Ranking this week. Davis won in Eugene with a best effort of 17.40 meters/57 feet 1 inch (1330 points) and also moved into 24th place in the Men's Overall Ranking.

2005 World decathlon champion Bryan Clay won the Hypo Combined Events in Gotzis, Austria, with 8,677 points (1314 points) and stepped up to 17th in the Men's Overall Ranking, increasing his lead in the Event Ranking.

In the Women's Overall Rankings, World 100m Hurdles champion Michelle Perry jumped from 11th to ninth after winning in Eugene with a world leading time of 12.63 seconds (1335 points).

ACU and Lincoln run away with DII titles

The Abilene Christian University men's team won its fifth straight victory in the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships Saturday at Fran Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kan.

The Wildcats' championship wasn't secured until senior pole vaulter Cory Aguilar scored four points in the final event of the meet, giving ACU 80 points to St. Augustine's 77.5 points. ACU distance standout Nicodemus Naimadu competed in his two specialities, with an easy win in the steeplechase in 8 minutes 59.90 seconds and a sprint to the finish win in the 5,000m in 14:47.90.

On the women's side, Lincoln University (Missouri) captured its fourth straight outdoor title. Davita Prendergast, a sophomore at Lincoln, won the women's 400 meters in a new meet record time of 51.29 seconds. Another meet record was set by Fort Valley State junior Lynnsey Dailey in the 400m hurdles with her time of 57.18. Dailey also won the 100m hurdles (13.46) and placed sixth in the 100m (11.82). Cecilia Barnes of Cal. State-Bakersfield was the high point scorer for the meet with 25 points. She won the discus throw and the hammer throw, and placed fourth in the shot put.

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Lacrosse take DIII crowns

Wisconsin schools claimed the men's and women's team titles as UW-Oshkosh won the women's title and UW-LaCrosse recaptured the men's crown at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships hosted by Benedictine University.

UW-Lacrosse garnered 74.5 points for the win. It is their fifth team title in the past six years and record 10th crown overall. Lincoln University, which has seven championships to its credit, placed second in the team standings with 54 points.

The UW-Oshkosh women won the crown with 52 points. Their title is a record seventh crown for the Titans, their last title coming in 2004. Williams College came in second with 42 points.

The United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) named Uzomo Orji of MIT as the Men's Field Athlete of the Meet. Orji won the shot put (18.35m/60-2.5) and was second in the hammer. Macharia Yout (60.46m/198-4) of Widener was named the Men's Runner of the Meet. Yout won three distance events, the 3,000 meter steeplechase (9:03.88), the 5,000 meters (14:48.96), and the 10,000 meters (30:26.99).

On the women's side UW-Oshkosh's Robyn Jarocki was named the Field Athlete of the meet. Jarocki won the discus (48.20m/158-2) and set an NCAA record in winning the shot put (16.77m/55-0.25). She also placed second in the hammer (58.49m/191-10). Lincoln's Shanda Jackson was named the Runner of the Meet, setting an NCAA record in winning the 100 meters (11.66w), and taking third in the 200 meters (23.92w). Jackson was also a member of the 4x100 relay team that took second (46.42).

NCAA Division I regional highlights

The USC men's and women's track and field teams took home the team titles at the NCAA West Regional Championships hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah. The men's team pulled away during the meet, besting BYU 123 points to 86.5 points. Arizona was third with 75 points. The women's team needed junior Kate Hutchinson to win the discus competition to tie Stanford for the team title and she won the event with a throw of 55.33 meters/181 feet 6 inches. USC and Stanford's women's teams tied for first with 94 points, with UCLA placing third with 92.5 points.

USC senior Virginia Powell tied the collegiate record and set a new meet record in the women's 100m high hurdles with her time of 12.61 seconds, and freshman Eva Orban bettered her school record and set a new meet record in the women's hammer throw with her heave of 69.10 meters/226 feet 8 inches. USC senior Jesse Williams defended his NCAA West title in the high jump by clearing 2.19m/7-2.25 to win the event.

Florida State University, the top-ranked men's team, defended their team title in winning the NCAA East Region Championships on Saturday at the Irwin Belk Track and Field stadium in Greensboro, N.C. FSU scored 97 points. Florida finished in second place with 64 points and South Carolina picked up 51 points for third. South Carolina captured the team title for the second year in a row with a final score of 79.50. Miami came in second with 71.00 points.

The FSU men's 4x100m relay (Greg Bolden, Ronald Wright, Michael Ray Garvin and Cedric Nabe) won the NCAA East Region Championship of the meet, blazing the track in 38.90, breaking the NCAA East Region, Florida State school and Irwin Belk Track record. On the women's side, Miami senior Dominique Darden, cruised to the victory in a time of 56.26 in the 400m hurdles.

LSU swept both the women's and men's team competitions at the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field Championships at the University of Tennessee's Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. LSU's women piled up 95.5 points for the win while Auburn earned runner-up honors with 77 points. Tennessee's women finished third with 64 points. LSU's men's squad won their first regional team title after accumulating 71 points. Tennessee's men took second with 52.25 points and Arkansas, winners of the previous three Mideast Regionals, took third with 41 points.

Tennessee's Aries Merritt remained undefeated this season, breaking the meet record in the men's 110 meter hurdles with his winning time of 13.36 seconds. Auburn's Markita James rewrote her own meet record and broke the stadium record with her winning time of 54.54 in the 400m hurdles. Xavier Carter of LSU won the men's 100 in 10.22 and the men's 400m in 44.84.

The Texas men and women both garnered first place team honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships at the University of Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The Longhorn men totaled 91.83 points, outdistancing second-place Texas El-Paso who finished with 72.50 points while the women topped out at 93 points with Texas A&M second with 72 points.

Texas junior Marshevet Hooker, who won the long jump on Friday (6.60m/21-8), was unable to finish the 100 meter final after suffering a mild hamstring strain about 60 meters into the race. Hooker had anchored the 4x100-meter relay team to victory earlier in the evening in 43.17 seconds. She had been scheduled to compete in the 200-meter final but was unable to participate.

The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be contested June 7-10 (Wed.-Sat.) at the Alex Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif. CBS Sports will offer live final-day coverage on June 10 from 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. ET.

For more information and complete results on the 2006 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, visit NCAASports.com.

Comment on this story.

Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest