NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships - Day Four Report

NCAA Track and Field Championships
Saturday, June 14, 2008, Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa

- Results | Photos | Podcasts

Weather: 1 p.m.—82º, winds SSW 21-28; 2 p.m.—82, winds SSW 21-28; 3 p.m.—85, SW 28-38;
4 p.m.—85, SW 28-38.

Attendance: Wednesday—8,841; Thursday—9,618 (two-day total: 18,469); Friday—11,228 (three-day total: 29,697); Saturday—11,490 (four-day total: 41,187)

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Women’s Team Recap: Louisiana State captured its 14th NCAA team title but its first since winning four straight crowns from 2000-03.

Men’s Team Recap: Florida State won its third straight NCAA team championship.

Elite Company: Arizona State senior heptathlete Jacquelyn Johnson becomes the first four-time champion in the history of the event, having won in 2004 and then 2006, 2007 and 2008. Her 6,053 points are the ninth best in the history of the event. There have also been four two-time champs and one three-time winner since 1982. Her total set a stadium mark, breaking the 1990 record of 5,802 by Russian Tatyana Zhuravola.

Keeping It In The Family: Muhammad Halim, a senior from Cornell, won that school’s second straight triple jump title with a jump of 16.66/54-8. Halim was 8th last year as teammate Ray Taylor won the event. Taylor, who transferred to  Florida State, finished fourth.  Only 6¾” separated the top five placers.

Defending Champion: Jessica Pressley, a senior from Arizona State, repeated as women’s shot put champion with a throw of 18.13/59-5¾.  She’s the sixth repeat champ in the event.

Making History: Penn State senior Shana Cox became the Nittany Lions’ first female NCAA champ on the track, winning the 400 in 50.97. (Other PSU winner was 2003 discus thrower Deshayn Williams a 55.40/181-9).  Runner-up Trish Bartholomew, an Alabama senior, moved from 8th last to 2nd this time around.

Oral Roberts senior Andretti Bain, the 400-meter champ in 44.62, became Oral Robert’s first champion after six previous appearances in the meet. 

Go Big Blue: Geena Gall, a Michigan junior, joins teammate 2007 and now 2008 hurdle champ Tiffany Ofili as the school’s only NCAA champions, winning the 800 in 2:03.91.  Gall was 5th last year. Ofili

Long Time Coming: Texas junior Jacob Hernandez broke a 30-year-old stadium record (Randy Wilson, Oklahoma, 1:45.86, 1978) with his 1:45.31 win over Oregon’s Andrew Wheating (1:45.32).

Moving Up: Women’s 200 champ Simone Facey, a senior from Texas A&M, moved up a place from last year and became the school’s first winner in the event in 22.63.  Sophomore teammate Porscha Lucas was second, just four-hundredths second behind.

Three-peat: Walter Dix, a senior from Florida State, won his third 200 title in 20.40. He’s only the second three-time winner after Marquette’s Ralph Metcalfe (1932-33-34).

Unique Double: Auburn senior Cory Martin, the shot put winner at 20.35/66-9¼, also won the hammer throw. He’s the first man since California’s Jack Merchant in 1922 (SP 44-6½, HT 161-4) to win the unusual double.
Martin was seventh in the shot in 2007 at Sacramento.

The Long Mile: Leonel Manzano of Texas moves up to first after finishing second last year in the men’s 1500, leading wire to wire. He also won the event in 2005.  Only other Texas runner to win the mile or 1500 in NCAA meet history was Jim Reese in 4:18.8 in 1925.

PRs: The top five runners in the finals of the men’s 400 – Andretti Bain of Oral Roberts (44.62), Lionel Larry of USC (44.63), Baylor’s LeJerald Betters (44.83), Washington’s Jordan Boase (44.83) and Calvin Smith Jr. of Florida (45.14) – recorded personal bests.

Double Duty: Shana Cox of Penn State won the women’s 400 and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4x400 relay. Simone Facey of Texas A&M won the 200 and ran the third leg on the winning 4x100 relay.

Cory Martin from Auburn won the men’s hammer throw and shot put. Richard Thompson of LSU won the 100 and ran the second leg on the 4x100 relay.