Saturday, June 12 - Day 4 recap by Alex Moore

It was a close race on the women's side while the men provided just as much excitement at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas this weekend. UCLA captured the women's team title while Arkansas took home the men's team title.

In the women's 400 meter final, the national leader and heavy hometown meet favorite Sanya Richards was hoping to score some valuable points for her team. So were HazelAnn Regis of LSU and Monique Henderson of UCLA. Richards and Regis were the early leaders, until Sanya became the clear leader on the turn, with a pack of Regis, Dee Dee Trotter of Tennessee, and Jerrika Chapple of Texas fighting for 2nd. At the end of the turn it was Dee Dee Trotter digging deep and making her move. First passing Regis, and then moving ahead of Richards, Trotter raced down the line for the win. In the back it was Monique Henderson coming up and taking the 2nd spot right at the end.

Jeremy Wariner of Baylor claimed the 400 meters just like he did indoors this season

After the women's 400 meter upset, the mens competitors were taking nothing for granted. From the start there were a clear 3 fighting for the championship as Kelly Willie, Jason Barton, and Jeremy Wariner all appeared to be ahead of the field going into the turn. Wariner, on the outside of the other two, moved up from behind on the turn and passed Barton. Going into the last 100 meters, Willie was still in the lead, but Wariner maintained his momentum, if not increasing it, and passed Willie to win.

Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State pulled what can only be described as a "Tiffany McWilliams" in the women's 1500 meter final. The junior moved to the front of the race in the first 1500 meters, followed by Marlies Overbeek of Virginia Tech, then Marina Muncan of Villanova, who moved into 2nd place by the 200. Though the other positions changed, McWilliams never saw another runner without looking back. Michigan's Lindsey Gallo moved up into third by the end of the first lap, followed by Georgetown's Treniere Clements then Hilary Edmondson of Wisconsin. The runners form a long thin line that started to spread out over the 2nd lap, with McWilliams leadingt through the 800 in 2:10. Gallo took over 2nd at the 800, but only held the position for half a lap. Clements, then Muncan, passed gallo at 1000 meters. With a lap to go it was Clements back in 2nd, followed closely by Muncan, then Gallo. McWilliams hit the 1200 in 3:19, with a 3 second lead over The others. Over the last 300 meters, Muncan tried to pass Clements, succeeded in passing her on the turn, but was passed back almost immediately as Tiffany McWilliams ran away with it, Clements taking 2nd, Muncan falling back to 3rd and Gallo holding on for 4th over a surging Edmondson.

Arkansas was looking for team points any way they could get them, and the men's 1500 meter final did not disappoint. In a field that featured more past NCAA mile/1500 champions than you could Tom Parlapiano of Villanova surged to the lead early, but after hitting the first lap in 60 it was a very close group led by Said Ahmed of Arkansas, Parlapiano, Brendon Mahoney of Georgia Tech, and Don Sage of Stanford. On the 2nd lap, it was McGowan who took his turn near the front, moving up on the outside to settle in for 2nd. Hitting the 800 in 2:05, it was Parlapiano in front again, followed by McGowan, Ahmed, and Mahoney. Bryan Lindsay made a bold move on the third lap coming from the back of the pack all the way to the lead, but when the pack reached the bell lap, the race finally began. Parlapiano made the first move, with Robison right behind him and Sage in tow. After the first turn, Robison took the lead as Parlapiano began to fade quickly. Mulvaney at this point began to move up from almost the very back on the outside, but up front it was Sage and Ahmed following Robison all the way through the final turn. Coming off the turn, Ahmed moved in front of Sage for 2nd, at which point Mulvaney appeared for contention finishing with a kick that could be described as "monster." Mulvaney passed Sage, then Ahmed (who at this point fell off the pace), then made his way towards Robison, who he ultimately passed at the end, closing with a 53.3 second last lap, to take the 1500 crown after finishing 2nd the last 2 years, giving Arkansas the last 10 points of his career. Robison held on for 2nd over Sage and Ahmed was passed by Rob Myers of Ohio State who took 4th.

Ida Nillson of Northern Arizona won the women's steeplechase

Briana Shook of Toledo quickly moved to the front in the women's 3000 meter steeplechase after the first barrier and started to separate herself from the pack. However, Ida Nillson, two-time NCAA runner-up in the event, followed her. After the 2nd lap, it was still Shook and Nilsson 1-2 with a 4 second lead over the following pack of BYU's Kassi Anderson, USC's Julia Budniak, BYU's Michaela Mannova, and Ann Gaffigan of Nebraska. On the 4th lap, Nilsson moved outside on the water jump and step in front to lead by a stride over Shook, now 6 seconds in front of the chase pack. Mannova now moved up to behind Anderson to sit in 4th, and Gaffigan passed Budniak to run in 5th. Amber Ferner of Purdue, who had made a strong jump from the back of the pack to move into 8th place, moved into 7th place on the final lap and challenged Budniak, but Budniak held her off to keep her 6th place finish. At the start of the last lap, Nilsson was separated from Shook by a 3 second stretch, and Mannova was steadily moving up to close the gap. Entering the final stretch, Nilsson had increased her lead to 5 seconds, but shook was sprinting, making up ground on Nilsson. Unfortunately for the Toledo senior, it was not enough as Nilsson still edged her by 1 second to take the win. Mannova, engaging in a sprint of her own, passed her teammate Anderson at the end to take 3rd. Gaffigan of Nebraska finished 5th, and Amber Ferner of Purdue, who had made a strong jump from the back of the pack to move into 8th place on the 6th lap, moved into 7th place on the final lap and challenged Budniak of USC, but Budniak held her off to keep her 6th place finish.

Andy Smith of NC State took the pacing duties from the start of the men's 3000 meter steeplechase, followed by Jochen Dieckfoss of Boston University and Ian Dobson of Stanford. At the end of lap one it was Smith leading, followed by 2003 runner-up Jordan Desilets of Eastern Michigan, Dobson, Dieckfoss, and SMU's Soeren Lindner. Diekfoss and Lindner, along with Ohio State's Aaron Fisher, would trade the 4th position between themselves for most of the race as the top trio of Smith, Desilets, and Dobson separated from the other. After Smith led, the entire race, Dobson took the lead at 500 to go, but Desilets and Smith covered the move and stuck with him. Desilets passed Dobson on the outside to take the lead and broke away with 300 meters to go with Smith still in 3rd. Desilets pulls away to win, Dobsons holds on for a little, but is passed by Smith. Of the rest of the contenders, it was Aaron Fisher who would claim 4th place.

Some people might have missed LaShaunte'a Moore coming into the 2nd half of the womens 200 meter final, but by the end of the race all eyes were on her. Tonette Dyer of San Diego State had the best start of the field, but then Ashlee Williams of Texas took the lead on the turn. Coming off the turn however, it was LSU's Muna Lee leading at the start of the back stretch, but then her teammate Stephanie Durst took over the lead. However, sneaking right between the Bayou Bengals was Moore, who pulled in front just in time for the title.

Emerging from a stacked field it was national leader Stanford Routt of Houston in the men's 200 meters, last year's 3rd place finisher, leading off of the turn. Down the stretch the entire field tightened, but moving up on the outside it was Wallace Spearmon, the freshman from Arkansas, who passed Routt with 10 meters to go for the win, followed by Routt, Jabari Fields of TCU, and Tyson Gay of Arkansas.

Day 4 recap continued by Tom Borish

Oregon's Tommy Skipper cleared 18-08.25 to win the pole vault

The final events of the day was the 4x400 meter relay which saw very surprising results in the women's field. Texas, which holds the collegiate record at 3:23.75 and a heavy favorite in the relay, could only manage to grab sixth place due to a bad exchnage between LaTashia Kerr and Raasin McIntosh, who could only split 55.5. LSU took advantage of Texas' fall as the lady Tigers came through the line in 3:25.26 to win the event. UCLA, which won the team title with their fourth place finish, got an outstanding split from anchor Monique Henderson who was unofficially recorded at 49.6.

During the men's 4x400 meter relay, Arizona State grabbed a big lead before a dropped hand-off between Seth Amoo and Domenik Peterson caused the Sun Devils to fall to fourth overall. Baylor held a slight lead over Minnesota into the final exchange as Darold Williamson managed to hold off Mitch Potter for the title in 3:01.03.

Leading off the day in the field events was the women's hammer throw as Candice Scott of Florida defended her title with a stadium record throw of 225-10. UCLA's Jessica Cosby placed second with her mark of 219-05.

It was somewhat of an upset in the men's javelin throw as Gabriel Wallin of Boise State launched the spear with a mark of 264-09. Brian Chaput of Pennsylvania, who claimed the title last year, placed second with his throw of 256-02. Arkansas picked up a big 6 points as Eric Brown finished third with his mark of 246-03.

Thomas Freeman of Manhattan claimed the men's hammer throw as the senior popped a mark of 232-02. Spyridon Jullien of Virginia Tech was able to grab second with his throw of 231-11 while Dan Taylor of Ohio State placed third with his mark of 227-06.

Over in the women's triple jump, Ineta Radevica of Nebraska successfully defended her title with a jump of 45-06.25 (3.4w). LSU's Nicole Toney picked up 8 crucial points for the Tigers with her second place finish at 45-03.50.

The women's shot put final, North Carolina's Laura Gerraughty came away with the title with her throw of 59-11. Gerraughty, the 2004 NCAA indoor champion, won the event on her second to last throw of the competition. Stanford's Jillian Camarena had an impressive throw of 59-05 to take second place.

It was the clash of the titans in the men's shot put as the two seniors would battle until the end. Carl Myerscough of Nebraska ended his collegiate career with a throw of 67-08.75 to take the title over Dan Taylor of Ohio State who managed to throw 65-11.75 for second.

Only a freshman, Tommy Skipper of Oregon walked away with the men's pole vault title with his clearance of 18-08.25. Skipper, an excellent decathlete as well, is the national high school record holder in the pole vault.

Andra Manson of Texas made the high jump look easy with his winning clearance of 7-07.25. Manson battled with Kyle Lancaster of Kansas State who cleared 7-06 for second place.

Auburn's Leevan Sands closed out his collegiate career in grand style while winning the triple jump with his mark of 56-02. Aarik Wilson of Indiana finished second with his leap of 55-06.50.

In the women's 400 meter hurdles, Sheena Johnson of UCLA maintained her form through the final two hurdles and crossed the line in a collegiate record time of 53.54 as she defended her title from last year. South Carolina's Lashinda Demus also posted a great time of 54.22 for second place.

Freshman Kerron Clement of Florida earned the men's 400 meter title with his time of 49.05.

Friday, June 11 - Day 3 recap by Tom Borish

Although rain and wind paused some of the action early on Friday, it turned out to be another great day of weather at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas.

The running events started with the women's 4x100 meter relay final. LSU, which is in the hunt for the team title, racked up 10 points with their victory in 42.61 seconds. The Tigers clocked the third fastest time in NCAA history with the foursome of Lolo Jones, Monique Hall, Stephanie Durst and Muna Lee. UCLA placed second with their time of 43.49.

It was a close call for the men's 4x100 meter relay as Florida crossed the line first in 39.11. It took a photo finish to determine second place as Arizona State edged out Florida State. It was the slowest winning time since 1985 as the Gators last took the title in 2000 held at Duke.

Raasin McIntosh and Nichole Denby after the 100 hurdles (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

Nichole Denby of Texas lit up the 100 meter hurdles as the senior went out on top with her time of 12.62 which is the third fastest collegiate time ever. Nebraska's Priscilla Lopes placed second in 12.64 with Sheena Johnson of UCLA claiming third in 12.75.

Over in the men's 110 meter hurdles, Josh Walker of Florida led the entire way with his winning time of 13.32. It was the Gators first short hurdle champion as well. Eric Mitchum, a sophomore from Oregon, finished second with his impressive time at 13.38.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was the women's 100 meter final which saw Miami's Lauryn Williams record the world's fastest time in 10.97 seconds. Williams, who lead from start to finish, equaled the fifth fastest time ever by a collegian. LSU's Muna Lee placed second with her time of 11.12.

Arkansas had their first gold in a men's 100 meter competition as Tyson Gay clocked 10.06 seconds for the title. It was a very close call as it took a photo finish image to determine that Gay was in fact the champion over TCU's Michael Frater who also ran 10.06. After the reading, Gay ran 10.051 while Frater ran 10.059. Mardy Scales of Middle Tennessee State, who claimed the 2003 title, finished third in 10.07.

In the field event's, Katy Doyle of Texas A&M captured the women's javelin title with her throw of 185-07. USC's Inga Stasiulionyte placed second with her mark of 185-04.

Hannes Hopley of SMU won the discus title (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

Chaunte Howard ruled the high jump once again with her clearance of 6-4. The sophomore from Georgia Tech should have plenty of confidence heading into the Olympic Trials next month in Sacramento. Freshman Sharon Day of Cal-Poly SLO placed second with her height of 6-02.75 with teammate Kaylene Wagner also clearing the same height with more missed to take third.

UCLA got their important 10 points for the women's race out of Chelsea Johnson with her winning height of 14-01.25 in the pole vault. This is the first NCAA title for the collegiate indoor and outdoor record holder. Washington's Kate Soma placed second with her height of 13-09.25.

Becky Breisch of Nebraska claimed the women's discus with her throw of 204-05. Breisch, who won the 2003 outdoor shot put title, placed third in the discus last year as well.

The men's discus was no surprise as SMU's Hannes Hopley won the event with his mark of 203-05. The collegiate record holder in the event helped SMU to their third straight outdoor title. SMU will eliminate their men's program next year.

Day 3 recap continued by Alex Moore

Arkansas, the 2nd fastest team in the prelims of the 4x100 meter relay, suffered from a bad first exchange and was fighting from behind for the rest of the race. It appeared to be South Carolina and Miami in the lead through the 2nd turn, but Muna Lee's anchor left no doubt as to who the fastest team was as LSU sprinted to a 42.61, the 3rd fastest collegiate time ever run.

Sekou Clarke of Florida anchored home the 4x100 title (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

Arkansas also had the 2nd fastest qualifier in the men's 4x100 meter prelims race, but lost their anchor, Omar Brown, to an injury in his 200 prelim. Florida State and TCU were out well through the first half until TCU had a bad handoff at the 2nd exchange. Florida took charge of the race on the 2nd turn and led all the way home, followed by Arizona State, Florida State, TCU and then Arkansas.

In the first heat of the women's 400 meter prelims, it appeared to be almost a dead heat between Sanya Richards and Jerrika Chapple of Texas, and Angel Perkins of Arizona through the first half. However, at 200, Sanya appeared to switch into another gear as she left the field around the turn to win the heat. Chapple maintained her position and finished 2nd, but Perkins fell off the pace to finish 4th, out of qualifying.

The 2nd heat saw Monique Henderson of UCLA in front after first turn, where she stayed for the rest of the race. Novlene Williams of Florida moved into 2nd and started to catch up to Henderson in the last 100, but did not catch her.

Jessca Fox of Wyoming was moving well early in the 3rd heat, but around the first turn it was Hall of LSU in the lead. Tiandra Ponteen of Florida moved up as Hall fell back at the 200 and was passed by Shellene Williams of Iowa. Dee Dee Trotter of Tennessee came from behind on the homestretch, first passing Williams and then blowing by Ponteen to win the heat.

In the 4th heat, Ashlee Kidd of Georgia Tech was out fast, as was Allison Beckford of Rice but it was LSU's HazelAnn Regis in the lead. By the last 100, Beckford had overtaken Kidd and held on for 2nd as well as the final time qualifier, but was unable to catch Regis in front.

The first heat of the men's 400 meter prelims featured national leader Jeremy Wariner of Baylor, who was out slow at first in lane 9 but picked it up at the 200. Mitch Potter of Minnesota pulled into 2nd in front of early leader Damion Barry of Auburn. David Neville of Indiana picked off Barry at the line for 3rd in the heat and the last qualifier for finals.

Monique Henderson of UCLA looked smooth in her 400 prelim

The first of two casualties in the prelims came in the 2nd heat as LSU's Pete Coley pulled up in first 20 meters or so. Jamel Ashley of Mississippi State took a big lead going into the 2nd turn, but it was clear that he was hurting down the homestretch. Kelly Willie of LSU passed him with 20 meters to go, and Arizona State's Jason Barton did the same with 10. Barton appeared to be in 2nd going into the last turn until Willie moved up to take over the charge to catch the fading Ashley.

The third brought the fastest time of the night, as well as a stadium record. Arizona State's Lewis Banda was not off to a great start, but TCU's Jerry Harris was, and was still in the lead going into the turn followed by Brett Wilson of TCU and then Banda. Banda moved up through out the race, however, and was able to catch Wilson for 2nd but it was Jerry Harris who ran 44.92. Florida's Reggie Witherspoon, an early contender, pulled up at 250 meters and walked off.

The final heat included this year's NCAA Indoor 4x400 champion anchor from Baylor, Darold Williamson and last year's NCAA 400 champion from Minnesota, Adam Steele. Williamson, Craig Everhart of UCLA, and Tennessee's Jak Taylor were out well. Taylor led at the 200, but Everhart made a big move on the turn and passed him for the lead. Williamson, not to be outdone, chased down Everhart, caught him halfway down the stretch, and moved ahead for the win. Steele moved up around the turn into 3rd, but was caught at the end by Terry Gatson of Arkansas.

Heading into the final day of action on Saturday, Nebraska leads the women's race with 38 points, followed by UCLA with 34 and LSU with 31. The men's title race has Arkansas in the lead with 25 points, followed by Florida with 23 and TCU with 18.

Thursday, June 10 - Day 2 recap by Alex Moore

A day after the meet was delayed due to torrential rainfall, the only noticeable signs of the previous day's weather were a few standing puddles and a still somewhat soggy infield.

The running events on Thursday began with the mens 4 x 100 prelims. The first heat featured a matchup between TCU and LSU. The two teams were almost even until a superior final exchange allowed TCU to pull ahead of LSU for the victory in 39.03. Texas finished 3rd, and grabbed the last time qualifier for finals. In the 2nd heat, Arizona State, Middle Tennessee State, and Nebraska all got out to good starts, but the third leg of Tyson Gay for Arkansas put them in the lead for good. The Razorbacks won the heat, followed by Middle Tennessee, Arizona State, and Nebraska, all of whom qualified. In the final heat, it was a race between Florida and Florida State from the start, with Florida State coming out ahead.

Brendan Christian of Texas clocked 10.06 (4.2w) in the prelims of the 100 meters

The next event, the womens 100 meter prelims, saw plenty of action. In the first heat, LSU star Muna Lee won in 11.01 of Tremedia Brice of Texas Southern and Connie Moore of Penn State. Muna was able to get a good start, and maintained a steady lead throughout the race. In the second heat, Krysha Bayley of Georgia led early unti Marshavet Hooker of Texas took over with about 30 meters to go. Hooker won, and Bayley was passed at the line by Fana Ashby of Auburn for 2nd. The third heat saw no clear favorite until the very end, with Tonnete Dyer of San Diego State trading the lead with Laverne Jones of Oklahoma until Dyer finally held the lead at the finish. LaShaunte'a Moore of Arkansas closed hard in that heat for 3rd place, and ended up grabbing the last qualifying spot. The last heat saw a real treat, with Miami's Lauryn Williams dominating the field and running, albeit wind-aided, the fastest time the world has seen this year at 10.94.

The mens 100 meter prelims were no less exciting. The first heat saw Mardy Scales, tied for the fastest time in the NCAA this year, out to a fast start, but Tyree Gailes of Texas Tech closed fast at the end to win the heat by .02 seconds. The 2nd heat saw the ever elusive 10 second barrier broken when Marc Burns of Auburn led wire to wire. The wind was over twice the legal limit, but who's counting? Hometown favorite Brendan Christian was catching up at the end, but ran out of track and finished 2nd in the heat. In the final heat, Tyson Gay, the other athlete tied for the fastest time in the NCAA, took over the race at about halfway to win with a time of 10.01, in much slower, but still illegal, wind.

Arizona State freshman Jacquelyn Johnson claimed the heptathlon

The most dramatic part of a heptathlon often comes at the final event, the 800 meter run. This championship event did not disappoint. After trading the lead back and forth between last year's champion, Hyleas Fountain of Georgia, and Jacquelyn Johnson, the freshman from Arizona State, the final event came down to a difference of 2.4 seconds. If Johnson who was in third, finished 2.4 seconds ahead of Fountain, she would not only pass Andrea Pressley of Jacksonville who was in 2nd, but she would also surpass Fountain for 1st place. Johnson wasted no time in trying to make her move, leading the second heat for most of the race before fading back to Fountain. Down the home stretch, Johnson was able to kick ever so slightly as Fountain faded back, and Johnson finished in 2:19.60 to Fountain's 2:22.82, a margin of 3.2 seconds and enough to win the heptathlon.

Fountain did not leave today empty handed, however. She came back to capture the long jump crown on her first jump, defeating 1st and 2nd ranked April Holliness of Baylor (who finished 3rd) and Ineta Radevica (who finished 2nd) with a personal best of 21 feet and 8.25 inches.

The womens 100 meter hurdles prelims had many fast times, with women breaking 13 seconds and not qualifying for finals. UCLA took the first heat 1-2, led by Sheena Johnson and runner-upped by Dawn Harper. Indoor 60 meter champ Priscilla Lopes of Nebraska got out fast and stayed in front to win the 2nd heat with the fastest time of the day of 12.75 (w 3.1), defeating Raasin McIntosh of Texas and RaNysha LeBlanc of LSU. Ashlee Williams of Texas, the Midwest Region champ, won the 3rd heat, overtaking early leader Lolo Jones of LSU, who took the last qualifying spot. The final heat saw another Bayou Bengal start out in front, only to be overtaken by a Longhorn, as Brittany Littlejohn of LSU finished 2nd to Nicole Denby.

David Payne of Cincinatti led the first heat of the mens 110 meter hurdles, until Josh Walker of Florida took over. Montrell Person of Georgia Tech moved into 2nd at the end to push Payne into 3rd. Richard Phillips of George Mason took the lead of the 2nd heat, and was almost caught by Eric Mitchum of Oregon but held on to win. In the 3rd heat, Joel Brown was in front for most of the race until Antwon Hicks beat him on the lean to win the heat. Michael Thomas of Arkansas made up ground the entire race, and finished 3rd to qualify for the finals.

Kameisha Bennett of Tennessee earned a top time of 2:03.83

In the womens 800 prelims, Kameisha Bennett (Tennessee) led Kamille Bratton (Florida) and Aneita Denton (Arkansas) through the 400 in 60 seconds. Bennett pulled way to become the clear first place runner, but a pack developed in the race for second. Allison Laske (Buffalo-SUNY) made a move to pull into 2nd before being passed by Bratton (4th), then Nicole Petty (Nevada-Reno) who moved up to 2nd, and Denton who finished 3rd. In the 2nd heat, Brooke Patterson (Kentucky) led the entire race before being passed by Beatra Rudzinska at the end and finished 2nd. Nellie Hammons of Utah led through the first 400 in 60 seconds. Neisha Bernard-Thomas (LSU) took the lead after the first lap and did not relinquish it. NBT and Nikeya Green (Wake Forest) pulled away from the pack, as did Carlene Robinson (Illinois) to finish 1-2-3. The 4th heat featured 2-time defending outdoor champion Alice Schmidt of UNC. Nicole Cook (Tennessee) and Evelyn Dwyer (Texas) led early with a tight pack through the first 350 meters. Schmidt moved up on the outside and took the lead at the 400 in 62 seconds, followed by Cook. Schmidt led the rest of the way, and Cook followed. Fatimoh Muhammed (UTEP) was almost able to catch Cook at the end, but it did not matter as neither qualified for finals.

Jonathan Johnson of Texas Tech earned a top time of 1:46.76

In the mens 800 prelims, Mike Inge of Kent State led big in the first heat, followed by Daniel Pessing of Rice then Jesse O'Connell of Georgetown, then Andrew Ellerton of Michigan. Inge hit the 400 in the lead at 51 seconds. O'Connell and Ellerton made their move to pass Pessingand then slowly reeled Inge in. After O'Connell passed Inge on the backstretch, he faded far back. Ellerton moved into 2nd, followed by Pessing, then Moise Joseph (Florida). Joseph passed Pessing for 3rd, as did Minnesota's Trent Riter for 4th. The 2nd heat featured an unexpected challenge. Texas Tech's Jonathan Johnson got out fast, but Peter Etoot of Alabama took the early lead. Johnson took over by the 200 mark, but it was a tight pack with Johnson, Etoot, Marc Sylvester (Tennessee) and Dimitriks Milkevics (Nebraska) all in contention through the 400, hit in 51.5 seconds. Milkevics moved into 2nd past the 400 mark, but Prince Mumba of Oral Roberts moved up soon after, passing Etoot first, then Milkevics on the last turn, then moving up and catching up to Johnson before Johnson pulled away for the win. Mumba finished 2nd over Milkevics (3rd) and Sylvester (4th). In the final heat, Paul Cross of Tennessee and Sherridan Kirk of Auburn led early, but it was a tight pack through the 400 hit in 52 seconds. Jason Griggs of Indiana State moved into 2nd briefly, before Kirk took the lead followed by Michael Hatch of Arkansas then Cross and then Griggs. Hatch moved into the lead on the homestretch before being repassed by Cross. After being passed by Cross, Kirk fell back, and Kevin Hicks of Florida A&M moved up from the back of the pack to finish 3rd.

LaShaunte'a Moore of Arkansas clocked 22.41 (3.2w) for 200

The sprint prelims continued with the semi-finals of the womens 200 meter dash, in which each heat saw a clear winner in the first 20 meters. In the first of the 5 heats, LaShaunte'a Moore of Arkansas, who had barely qualified for the 100 finals, started fast and pulled away from the field to win over LaJuana Lovett of Texas State. In heat two, the names were changed, but the story was the same, as Stephanie Durst of LSU was first out of the blocks and finished in that position, with Ashlee Williams of Texas moving fast the last 20 meters to get under 23 seconds for 2nd place. Heat three saw the fastest time of the prelims from Muna Lee, who gained a 1/2 second advantage over the field in the first 50 meters and stayed there the rest of the race. The fourth heat had two qualifiers from the 100 meter dash in Tremedia Brice of Texas Souther and Connie Moore of Penn State, but this time the order was reversed as Moore finished first. In the final heat, Tonette Dyer of SDSU was all alone for the win.

The mens 200 meter prelims were a little more rousing, starting with the first heat. Brian Dzingai of Florida State was out first and carried the lead into the stretch before being over taken by Tyson Gay of Arkansas in a wind-legal time of 20.09. Heat two had a clear winner in Stanford Routt of Houston but also had a clear problem for Arkansas when their 4 x 100 anchor, Omar Brown, pulled up halfway through the homestretch with an injury, though after sometime he was able to walk off the field. There was better news for Arkansas in heat three when Wallace Spearmon, after a slow start, overcame early leader Jabari Fields of TCU to win the heat. The final heat had Brendan Christian of Texas leading, then being challenged by Jerome Mathis of Hampton, then pulling away for the win. There were two surprises in the final heat, one being Mathis as the 2nd place finisher, the other being Wes Felix, coming into the competition ranked 6th in the NCAA, not making the finals.

Nebraska's Carl Myerscough popped a big first throw in the men's shot put prelims with his toss of 68-07.75. The finals will be contested on Saturday at 8pm CST.

The men's long jump saw some great competition as LSU's John Moffitt was able to take the title with his mark of 27-06.75 (2.6w). Tony Allmond of South Carolina also went over 27 feet with his leap of 27-04.75 (3.9w).

The first heat of the womens 1500 meter prelims featured NCAA leader and defending NCAA champion Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State. As has become her trademark, she immediately took to the lead, followed closely by Stanford's Ari Lambie. After passing through the first quarter in 67, McWilliams started to pull away from Lambie, while Lambie maintained a lead of one second over the chase pack through the 2nd lap, at which point the pack caught up to her. After passing the 1200 in 3:23, McWilliams had a 6 second lead over the rest of the runners, a lead she maintained over the last 300 to win her heat. Lambie faded off from the chase pack, which was taken over by Hilary Edmondson of Wisconsin, who fought off all challengeres for the 2nd spot. Kerry Meagher of Notre Dame made an impressive move at the end to place 3rd over Erin Donohue of UNC.

Heat two of the women's 1500 meter prelims with downtown Austin in the background

Heat 2 of the womens 1500 prelims featured surprise Mideast Region winner Lindsey Gallo of Michigan. Shannon Spaulding of Arkansas took the lead shortly after the start, in front of Brooke Novak of Tennessee and Corine VanBeek of UTEP. At the 400 it was still Spaulding in the lead, followed by her teammate Londa Bevins, then VanBeek and Gallo. At the 700 mark, with two laps to go, Gallo took over the race, and Bevins, VanBeek, and Marina Muncan of Villanova responded, with Spaulding fading back. At 1200, Muncan made her move, passing Bevins first, then Gallo, and took it all the way home. Treniere Clement of Georgetown was able to move up strongly for 2nd place, just ahead of Gallo, and Iryna Vashcuk of USC held off Bevins over the final stretch for the 4th qualifying spot. Bevins did hold on long enough to claim the final time qualifier for the finals.

Next came the mens 1500 prelims. The first heat was predicted by some to be a matchup between the Indoor NCAA mens mile champ Sean Jefferson of Indiana and last year's 1500 meter champion Grant Robison of Stanford. Goran Nava of Radford in front early, with Stanford's Don Sage moving up to front on the outside. Kurt Benninger of Notre Dame takes over the lead after 200 and leads through the 400 in 62. Jefferson sat in the back through the first 800. Nava in the lead with 1 lap to go, leading Sage, Rob Myer of Ohio State, and Scott McGowan of Montana. Sage took the lead briefly before being passed by Myers, then McGowan in the last 100 meters, with Mahoney coming in fast for the 4th spot.

The 2nd heat featured a host of leaders, but, as with most races, the only leader that matters is the one at the finish line. Said Ahmed of Arkansas was out fast but Sean Duffy from American led through the first lap, with Nate Robison of BYU moving up on the outside. Josh Spiker of Wisconsin and Chris Mulvaney of Arkansas were sitting at the back of the pack in next to last place. Spencer Hunter of Kentucky, followed by Chris Lukezic of Georgetown, led a tight pack on the 2nd lap. Tom Parlapiano of Villanova, Robison, and Spencer were leading by the end of the 2nd lap. At the 1000 mark, Mulvaney began to make a slight move up, and with a lap to go, Robison is in the lead. On the last lap, Mulvaney moved up on the outside, and Spiker moved up on the inside with Ahmed having taken over the lead. Mulvaney took the lead from Ahmed on the home stretch, with Robison holding on over Spiker for 3rd.

The South Carolina women made the 4x400 prelims look easy

After the metric mile came the almost-mile (1600 meter) relay prelims. The first heat of the womens prelims, just like all the other heats, was stacked. However, by the time this heat was over, it was definitely the best of the 3. Texas came in as the heavy favorite, with UCLA a possible challenger. Natasha Staten gave Texas a 1 second lead on the first leg over George Mason. Sheena Johnson, on UCLA's 2nd leg passed GMU and caught up to Texas by the 200 and held on through the handoff. UCLA stayed close to Texas through the first 300 of the 3rd leg until Texas began to pull away. After the last handoff, Sanya Richards pulled away to make it a race for 2nd, finishing in an NCAA meet record time of 3:25.58. Miami challenged UCLA briefly before falling back, to be challenged themselves by Texas Tech before holding them off for 3rd.

The second heat featured perennial powerhouse South Carolina versus a newer powerhouse, Wyoming, and SEC foe Tennessee. South Carolina got out to a good start, but it was Wyoming who took the early lead, and held on through the 400 in front of South Carolina and Louisiana Tech. With 100 meters to go on the 2nd leg, Demus passed Kima Wells of Wyoming and took the lead. On the third leg, The teams maintained their position of USC, Wyoming, and Tennessee. The final leg saw Tennessee catch up to Wyoming and pass them, and both challenged South Carolina but were unsuccessful as USC pulled away to win, followed by Tennessee then Wyoming.

The first leg of Heat 3 was led by Florida, then Louisiana State, then Arizona State. Neisha Bernard-Thomas of LSU took the lead in the first 100 meters of the 2nd leg, and maintained the lead for the rest of her run. On the third leg, Tonette Dyer of San Diego State made an impressive move, first passing ASU, then Auburn at the 200 mark, then LSU around the 2nd turn. LSU regained the lead halfway through the backstretch on the final leg, and was then challend by ASU. The Bengals were able to pull away for the win, and Auburn was able to finish strong to take the 2nd place by 5 hundredths of a second.

Texas would end up being dq'd in the 4x100 prelims (Alex Moore/The Sporting Image)

Wednesday, June 9 - Day 1 recap by Tom Borish

It was the kind of weather you never wish to have for the start of the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas.

Fans and competitors were evacuated from Mike A. Myers Stadium several times because of lightning and very heavy rain which made it a long day for the officials as well.

Due to the weather delay, a revised schedule of events was released which will unfortunately change some of the focus the athletes had planned heading into the competition.

The only running event to be contested was the women's 4x100 meter prelims which saw LSU post the fastest qualifying time of 43.04. However, there was some controversy as well.

The Texas women were disqualified after winning their heat for using an improper marker for the exchange zone.

The disqualification was announced at 12:15 a.m. CDT on Thursday. Texas head coach Bev Kearney immediately sent word she would appeal.

The lady Longhorns used tennis balls that had been sliced in half to mark the exchange zone on the track. NCAA rules state "two separate pieces of tape or suitable material as determined by meet management" can be placed on the track.

Texas' disqualification, if it stands, would allow UCLA -- another potential contender in the team race -- into Friday's finals. UCLA finished 10th in the preliminaries, six-thousandths of a second behind TCU. The nine fastest teams advanced to the finals.

Over in the heptathlon, Jacquelyn Johnson of Arizona State leads after day one with her score of 3433. Defending NCAA Champion Hyleas Fountain of Georgia is sitting in at third with her first day total of 3380.

The women's javelin prelims, USC's Inga Stasiulionyte compiled the farthest throw with her mark of 177-10.

Tuesday, June 8 - NCAA Press Conference by Alex Moore

Laura Gerraghty (UNC), the national leader in the shotput, was asked how she is approaching the NCAA Meet. "My focus is here. A lot of people are asking me 'Are you focusing on the Olympic Trials?', and I'm still at the University of North Carolina. My job is, I'm an NCAA athlete and this is my priority right now." Gerraughty is heavily favored to win the shot put, but she tries not to let that affect her competitiveness.

View more from the press conference provided by Alex Moore of Trackshark.com.