Travis Padgett at the 2007 NCAA championships (© Kirby Lee)
1 June 2008The stage is set for a showdown between collegiate leaders Richard Thompson of LSU and Travis Padgett of Clemson in the 100m in the NCAA Championships after posting regional wins on 31 May.
Thompson (TRI) won the Mideast Regional at Arkansas in a meet-record 9.97 over teammate Trindon Holliday (10.07) and J-Mee Samuels of Arkansas (10.08). Padgett won the East Regional at Florida State in 10.07.
Thompson holds the top spot on the yearly collegiate list at 9.93 and Padgett is second at 9.96. The top five finishers in each event in each of the four region championships advanced to the NCAA Championships to be held in in Des Moines, Iowa on 11-14 June.
Mideast Region
Thompson also won the 200m final in 20.21 after running 20.18 in the preliminaries. LSU suffered a blow in the 4x100m Relay when the 2008 world leaders at 38.68 finished last in 44.79 after a botched handoff. Tennessee, anchored by Rubin Williams, won in 38.98.
Kenyan Peter Kosgei of Arkansas won the 3000m Steeplechase in 8:33.42 and teammate Nkosinza Balumbu of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the reigning NCAA Indoor champion in the Triple Jump, bounded a wind-assisted 16.50m to win for the Razorbacks in the final home meet for retiring coach John McDonnell.
Kelly Baptiste (TRI) of LSU won the100m in 10.97w and the 200m in 22.67 and teamed with Brooklyn Morris, Samantha Henry and Juanita Broaddus on the Lady Tigers’ 400m Relay that won in 43.60.
Nickiesha Wilson won the women’s 100m Hurdles beating defending NCAA champion Tiffany Ofili of Michigan, 12.63 to 12.84, in a wind-assisted race in which the top five finishers all finished under 12.94.
East Regional
Walter Dix of Florida State, the collegiate 200m record holder at 19.69, bounced back to win the 200m in 20.10 after finishing third in the 100m at 10.21 behind Padgett. Kim Williams (JAM) of Florida State, the 2007 Pan-American Junior silver medallist in the women’s Triple Jump, won in a wind-aided 13.83m.
Midwest Region
Jacob Hernandez of Texas won the 800m in a collegiate-leading 1:45.68 to beat 2008 NCAA Indoor Champion Tyler Mulder of Northern Iowa (1:46.99). Hernandez eclipsed his previous best of 1:47.36 by over 1.5 seconds and broke a 20-year-old school record.
World leader Dusty Jonas of Nebraska won the High Jump at 2.31m and Leonel Manzano of Texas coasted to a 3:40.35 1500m win.
The Texas A&M trio of Simone Facey in the 100m (11.28), Porscha Lucas in 200m (22.67) and Jessica Beard in the 400m (51.67), the collegiate leaders in their respective events, were triumphant.
West Regional
Lionel Larry of Southern California beat Jordan Boase of Washington in a match up between the top collegians in the 400m at Cal State Northridge in 45.70. Larry, a member of the U.S. team at the 2007 World Championships, ran a NCAA yearly best of 44.77 in the Pacific-10 Championships on 17 May.
Kevin Craddock of UCLA (13.47) and Jeshua Anderson of Washington State (49.41) were 110m Hurdles and 400m Hurdles winners. NCAA Indoor Champion Ryan Whiting of Arizona State won the Shot Put at 20.60m.
Defending NCAA champion Nicole Leach of UCLA won her third regional title in the 400m hurdles in 55.75. Puerto Rican national 400m record holder Carol Rodriguez of Southern California won in 52.58 after pulling up in the 200m preliminaries with a flare-up of a hamstring injury in the 200m preliminaries a day earlier.
Reigning U.S. and NCAA champion Alysia Johnson won the women’s 800m in a meet-record 2:00.77.
Kirby Lee for the IAAF
Links for complete results:
[ East Region ] [Mideast Region ] [Midwest Region ] [ West ]
