Posted: June 8, 2006

Athletics: News and Notes, Volume 7, Number 44

Powell snaps record on first day of NCAA DI Champs

Defending NCAA 100 meter hurdles champion Ginnie Powell, a senior at USC, ran the fastest time ever by a collegian in the women's 100m hurdles on the opening day of the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Sacramento State University in Sacramento, Calif.

Powell won her semifinal heat on Wednesday in a record-breaking, world-leading 12.55 seconds into a .9 meters per second headwind. She had shared the collegiate record of 12.61 with Gail Devers, who set the first of her many records as a UCLA senior in 1988. It was a personal best for Powell and makes her the seventh fastest American of all time.

Collegiate record holder and defending NCAA champion Trey Hardee, a senior at Texas, ended the first day of competition in the decathlon on Wednesday with 4,331 points. He has 338 points over Jake Arnold of Arizona, currently in second, heading into the final five events.

LSU sophomore Xavier Carter is attempting to become the first athlete ever to win an NCAA 100 meter/400 meter double. Carter won his 400m heat on Wednesday in 45.51 seconds, and will advance to the semifinals. He also ran on LSU's 4x100m relay team that qualified for the second round in 38.87, the fastest collegiate time this season.

For more information and complete results, go to www.ncaasports.com.

Fans watch mural begin to take shape

Work began Wednesday on the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Graffiti Wall. Two artists worked on the wall in front of the EMMIS Communications Building on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

The 8' x 20' plywood surface is being painted with the look of the Championships, including likenesses of USA track and field stars Justin Gatlin, Lauryn Williams and Adam Nelson. The mural will take two days to complete with the second phase of painting on Saturday, June 10, at the Summer Latino Family Fun Fest at Military Park in Indianapolis. Once finished, the graffiti wall will be used as the awards ceremony backdrop June 21-25, when the Championships are staged at Carroll Stadium on the campus of IUPUI.

The AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships are the concluding event of the 2006 Visa Championship Series. For more information, visit www.visachampionshipseries.com.

Kersee named finalist for U.S. Olympic Committee Annual Coaching Awards

The United States Olympic Committee announced Bobby Kersee as a finalist for its National Coach of the Year honors. The awards will be presented, June 23 during the Night of Champions event at the U.S. Olympic Assembly in La Jolla, Calif.

The 2005 USA Track & Field Nike Coach of the Year, Kersee was the women's sprints/hurdles coach for Team USA at the 2005 IAAF World Outdoor Championships. Kersee served as the personal coached Allyson Felix and Michelle Perry, both of whom won gold medals at the 2005 World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Felix won the women's 200m and Perry won the 100m hurdles. Both women also won their events at the USA Outdoor Championships and were #1 ranked in their events.

Comment on this story.

Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest