NCAA track and field??????

[TerritorialTigers 0]

ST or another mod, is there anyway we could get updates on the  track and field championships in Oregon?  Im curious as to how well we are competing.

[AUSportTalk 4]

The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams had a successful opening day of competition at the NCAA Track and Field Championships Wednesday, where five individuals and two relays were in action.

The Tigers' greatest successes Wednesday came on the track, as Auburn competed in five semifinal races, and went a perfect five-for-five advancing to the finals. The Tigers' two field event athletes also both finished higher than they were seeded.

"We had a lot of expectations for today and I think we met them," said head coach Ralph Spry. "Everybody got through in the track events and our field event people performed well. We gave ourselves a boost today and I'm excited about that. We need to keep this momentum going Thursday and give ourselves a chance to score more points."

Junior Joanna Atkins, the reigning outdoor champion in the 400 meters, cruised into the finals of that event, posting the fastest time in the field in the semifinals with a time of 51.88 seconds. Atkins will defend her national title on Friday.

Sophomore Marcus Rowland, who owns the fastest time in the NCAA in the 100 meters this year, overcame a slow start to reach the finals of the men's 100 meters. Rowland clocked a time of 10.18 seconds, which was third best in the semifinals, but said a false start charged to the competitor in the lane next to him affected his start.

"The false start threw me off," said Rowland. "I'm not the best starter in the world so the last thing I needed was a false start. After my first two steps, though, I knew what I had to do. I kept my feet under me and moved my arms fast and played catch up."

In the women's 100 meters, junior Sheniqua Ferguson reached the finals by placing second in her heat with a time of 10.35 seconds. Ferguson, who will compete in the 200 meters as well, matched her time from the NCAA Preliminary Round and will run in the finals on Friday.

The men's 4x100-meter relay, which entered the meet seeded eighth, advanced to the finals with the fifth-fastest time in the field. The squad of junior Stephen Fly, redshirt freshman Harry Adams, junior Michael DeHaven and Rowland posted a time of 39.18 was the third-best mark in Auburn history and the fastest since 1999.

"I'm proud of my teammates," said Rowland. "We've struggled with some injuries but we put all that aside and made the finals. We put ourselves in a good position for Saturday and we'll be in it to win the race."

The women's No. 2-ranked 4x100-meter relay team did not run its best, but still ran well enough to reach the finals. The team of senior Shaquela Williams, junior Joanna Atkins, Ferguson and sophomore Nivea Smith clocked a time of 44.10 which was sixth best.

In the women's high jump, freshman Maya Pressley finished 10th with a mark of 1.76 meters (5-9.25), just missing out on scoring at the NCAA meet and earning All-American honors. Competing on a wet surface due to rains that delayed the start of the event, Pressley cleared both the opening height of 1.72 meters (5-7.75) and the second height of 1.76 meters on her second attempts, but dropped out when the bar was moved to 1.80 meters (5-10.75).

Senior Eric Werskey opened the competition for Auburn by competing in the men's discus. Werskey was seeded 22nd coming in but finished 16th on Wednesday with a mark of 52.93 meters (173-8). He will compete in the shot put on Saturday.

Competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships continues Thursday with six Auburn athletes and a relay in action. Ferguson, Smith and freshman Kai Selvon will run in the semifinals of the women's 200 meters, senior Felix Kiboiywo will compete in the men's 1500-meter semifinals, sophomore Ben Cheruiyot and senior Elkanah Kibet will run in the men's 10,000-meter finals and the women's 4x400-meter relay team will compete in the semifinals.

[AUSportTalk 4]

The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams had a successful opening day of competition at the NCAA Track and Field Championships Wednesday, where five individuals and two relays were in action.

The Tigers' greatest successes Wednesday came on the track, as Auburn competed in five semifinal races, and went a perfect five-for-five advancing to the finals. The Tigers' two field event athletes also both finished higher than they were seeded.

"We had a lot of expectations for today and I think we met them," said head coach Ralph Spry. "Everybody got through in the track events and our field event people performed well. We gave ourselves a boost today and I'm excited about that. We need to keep this momentum going Thursday and give ourselves a chance to score more points."

Junior Joanna Atkins, the reigning outdoor champion in the 400 meters, cruised into the finals of that event, posting the fastest time in the field in the semifinals with a time of 51.88 seconds. Atkins will defend her national title on Friday.

Sophomore Marcus Rowland, who owns the fastest time in the NCAA in the 100 meters this year, overcame a slow start to reach the finals of the men's 100 meters. Rowland clocked a time of 10.18 seconds, which was third best in the semifinals, but said a false start charged to the competitor in the lane next to him affected his start.

"The false start threw me off," said Rowland. "I'm not the best starter in the world so the last thing I needed was a false start. After my first two steps, though, I knew what I had to do. I kept my feet under me and moved my arms fast and played catch up."

In the women's 100 meters, junior Sheniqua Ferguson reached the finals by placing second in her heat with a time of 10.35 seconds. Ferguson, who will compete in the 200 meters as well, matched her time from the NCAA Preliminary Round and will run in the finals on Friday.

The men's 4x100-meter relay, which entered the meet seeded eighth, advanced to the finals with the fifth-fastest time in the field. The squad of junior Stephen Fly, redshirt freshman Harry Adams, junior Michael DeHaven and Rowland posted a time of 39.18 was the third-best mark in Auburn history and the fastest since 1999.

"I'm proud of my teammates," said Rowland. "We've struggled with some injuries but we put all that aside and made the finals. We put ourselves in a good position for Saturday and we'll be in it to win the race."

The women's No. 2-ranked 4x100-meter relay team did not run its best, but still ran well enough to reach the finals. The team of senior Shaquela Williams, junior Joanna Atkins, Ferguson and sophomore Nivea Smith clocked a time of 44.10 which was sixth best.

In the women's high jump, freshman Maya Pressley finished 10th with a mark of 1.76 meters (5-9.25), just missing out on scoring at the NCAA meet and earning All-American honors. Competing on a wet surface due to rains that delayed the start of the event, Pressley cleared both the opening height of 1.72 meters (5-7.75) and the second height of 1.76 meters on her second attempts, but dropped out when the bar was moved to 1.80 meters (5-10.75).

Senior Eric Werskey opened the competition for Auburn by competing in the men's discus. Werskey was seeded 22nd coming in but finished 16th on Wednesday with a mark of 52.93 meters (173-8). He will compete in the shot put on Saturday.

Competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships continues Thursday with six Auburn athletes and a relay in action. Ferguson, Smith and freshman Kai Selvon will run in the semifinals of the women's 200 meters, senior Felix Kiboiywo will compete in the men's 1500-meter semifinals, sophomore Ben Cheruiyot and senior Elkanah Kibet will run in the men's 10,000-meter finals and the women's 4x400-meter relay team will compete in the semifinals.

[augolf1716 21,101]

Day 2

The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams had a relatively light but productive second day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday, highlighted by sophomore Ben Cheruiyot earning All-American honors in the 10,000 meters in front of 11,172 fans at Hayward Field.

In addition to Cheruiyot's accomplishment, the Tigers advanced two women and another relay into finals. Although the Auburn women have not yet scored any points, the Tiger women have six qualifiers in finals over the final two days, which is tied for second most in the field. The Auburn men have two finals qualifiers.

"I'm once again pleased with our efforts today," said head coach Ralph Spry. "Ben ran a gutsy race in a tough field and our women continue to handle their business and get people through to finals. They're putting themselves in position to go for a top-five finish. Our men are grinding but we still have some firepower and need to finish with a bang. We still have a lot of opportunities to score."

Cheruiyot finished seventh in the race in 29:09.09, and will earn his second career All-American honor and first in track and field after becoming a cross country All-American in the fall. The SEC champion in the event clocked a personal-best time that ranks fifth in school history. He had dropped to ninth place with two laps to go, but regrouped and charged past two competitors on the last lap to finish seventh.

"I'm not that happy with my race but I'm happy to be an All-American," said Cheruiyot. "The race didn't go the way I wanted. I wanted to stay in the top six throughout the race but I realized I was falling back and I think that messed up my strategy. But then I realized I had a chance to be an All-American so I started to push and tried my best and ended up an All-American."

Senior Elkanah Kibet also ran in the 10,000 meters for Auburn, finishing in 16th place with a time of 29:30.46.

The Tigers advanced two runners to the finals of the women's 200 meters, as junior Sheniqua Ferguson and sophomore Nivea Smith look to repeat their performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships when they finished first and second, respectively. Running in the same semifinal heat, Ferguson was first in the heat and fourth overall in 23.31 seconds, while Smith was second in the heat and sixth overall with a time of 23.41.

Freshman Kai Selvon also competed in the same heat of the 200 meters, and was fourth in the heat and 12th overall with a time of 23.58 seconds in her first NCAA Championship race.

Later in the evening, Selvon anchored the women's 4x400-meter relay team advanced to Saturday's final. Despite entering the meet ranked No. 11 in the field, the team of juniors Cache Armbrister and Joanna Atkins, sophomore CeCe Williams and Selvon placed second in their heat and seventh overall with a time of 3:34.71.

Felix Kiboiywo had his collegiate career come to a disappointing close, as the senior finished 17th in the semifinals of the men's 1500 meters. Kiboiywo led for more than two laps, but faded down the stretch to finish with a time of 3:46.96.

Competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships will continue Friday with Ferguson and sophomore Marcus Rowland competing in the finals of the women's and men's 100 meters, respectively, and Atkins running in the finals of the women's 400 meters. CBS College Sports will air the NCAA Outdoor Championships from 7-9 p.m. CT and will have live coverage of those finals.

[TerritorialTigers 0]

Thanks ST and Golf for the update! I have been trying to keep up with all things AU since I don't live in Bama anymore.

[augolf1716 21,101]

Day 3 Not a good day because of Rowland's injury. Crap it all......

Joanna Atkins finished third in the women's 400 meters and two other Tigers also earned All-American honors Friday during the third day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Tiger women finished Friday's competition with nine points to rank tied for 21st with just 12 of 21 events completed, and have two 200-meter runners and two relays competing in finals on Saturday. The men have three team points and have two 5,000-meter runners, a shot putter and a relay still yet to compete.

Atkins, the defending outdoor champion in the 400 meters, looked like she had a strong chance of defending her crown through the first half of the race, as she held the lead entering the final turn. But in fact she went out too hard and faded running into the wind down the stretch, finishing with a time of 52.01 seconds.

"I felt good in warm-ups," said Atkins. "I did pretty well coming out of the blocks, but I talked to my coach and he said I ran the first 200 too hard and then the headwind pretty much killed me. But I gave it a good fight, I worked hard, I kept pushing and even though I'm not happy with my time but it was the best I could give today."

In the women's 100 meters, junior Sheniqua Ferguson finished in sixth place with a time of 11.32 seconds. Running out of lane seven, Ferguson fell slightly behind the leaders early and was unable to make up any ground, but still managed to become the fifth different Auburn woman to earn All-American honors in the 100 meters since 2003.

"I didn't get out very well," said Ferguson. "Probably because I was in an outside lane and I couldn't feel the competition. But overall I'm happy that I finished the race without any injuries, and now I'm going to get my mind right for the 200 and the (4x100-meter) relay tomorrow."

Ferguson, the NCAA indoor champion in the 200 meters this year, will compete in that event tomorrow as well as in the 4x100-meter relay.

The men's team had just one competitor on Friday, and suffered misfortune, as sophomore Marcus Rowland strained a muscle in his left leg while running in the finals of the 100 meters. Rowland, who had the fastest time in the NCAA this year entering the meet, was up front with Florida's Jeff Demps, who went on to win the race, 40 meters in before pulling up with the injury. He did manage to limp his way to the finish line to place eighth, which will earn him All-American honors for the sixth time in his career, but was hoping for much more entering the race.

Rowland's injury will also impact the Auburn men's 4x100-meter relay team, which will run in the finals on Saturday. Sophomore Neil Danville will likely run in Rowland's place during the race.

"We've had better days, but that's the way a meet like this goes sometimes," said head coach Ralph Spry. "We weren't quite as sharp as we were the first two days. Our women ran well but the competition was just really tough. We still have good opportunities to score a lot of points tomorrow, though. For the men, Marcus going down really hurt us as he's our key guy in the 400 relay. But hopefully someone else will step up for us tomorrow."

The NCAA Championships will conclude on Saturday with Auburn athletes competing in six events. The final day of competition will be shown live on CBS from 12-2 p.m. CT.