March 14, 2008
NCAA Indoor Championships ?- Day One
Men:
Long Jump: 4. Julian Reid, 26-0 (7.92), career best.
200 meters: 5. Chris Dykes, 20.77.
Women:
200 meters: 4. Porscha Lucas, 22.83, school record; 5. Simone Facey, 22.94, career best.
A safety jump for freshman Julian Reid turned into a personal best and a fourth-place finish in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday at the Tyson Track Center.
Meanwhile, in the women?™s 200 Porscha Lucas lowered her school record twice in placing fourth in the final. Lucas lowered her recently set school record to 22.84 in the semifinal of the 200 meters. She had run 22.86 to win the Big 12 title two weeks ago.
During the second section of the final, Lucas recorded another personal best of 22.83 to finish behind the 22.40 world-leading time set by Bianca Knight of Texas. Nickesha Anderson of Kansas was the runner-up in 22.62 while Alexandria Anderson of Texas placed third in 22.81.
?I?™m happy with what I did in setting a pair of personal best times,? Lucas said. ?The competition out here tonight was really tough. I?™m glad that I improved my times from last year at this meet and placed in the final.
?It can be tough running three rounds in one day, but that?™s part of track and you have to get used to it.?
Texas A&M?™s Jamaican jumper had two fouls to start the competition, as he was first jumper in the second flight of nine athletes. Needing a mark better than 25-7 ?Ľ to reach the final three rounds, Reid hit a career best distance on his third round attempt.
The official measurement reached 26-0 (7.92) and tied Reid for fourth going into the final three rounds. Based on second best marks, Justin Gunn of Mississippi was in fourth place with Reid fifth.
?I wasn?™t thinking about a PR on my third jump, I just wanted to get a safety mark to reach the finals and progress from there,? Reid noted. ?I improved on my PR with that safety jump.
?An improvement in my run up caused me to foul on the first two jumps. But my coach (Jim VanHootegem) and I were able to fix it on the third jump. Then in the finals I just wanted to be consistent and produce better marks.?
Reid produced a best of 25-8 ?Ľ (7.83) in the final three rounds, improving on the second-best mark of 25-5 ?Ľ (7.75) by Gunn. That allowed Reid to claim fourth place and push Gunn back into fifth.
In addition to claiming an All-America honor in his first NCAA appearance, Reid moved to No. 2 on the Texas A&M all-time indoor list with the No. 3 performance. He only trails Fabrice Lapierre, who set the school record of 26-4.5 (8.04) during the NCAA meet in 2006 when he placed second.
?I knew coming into the meet I was third all-time indoors on the A&M list,? Reid said. ?My objective was to break the school record, but I knew that jump moved me into second on the list. I was quite pleased.?
Fabrice also produced a mark of 26-1 ?ľ (7.97) at altitude that same season. Reid broke the tie he was in on the A&M all-time list with Ian James at 25-5.5 (7.76) and passed over Tim Bryant, at 25-9 ?˝ (7.87), in the process.
Reid, who will compete in the triple jump on Saturday with teammate Zuheir Sharif, was one of four freshmen in the long jump field. Cal State Northridge frosh Reindell Cole won the event with a leap of 26-7 ?ľ (8.12) while Florida State newcomer Ngonidzashe Makusha placed third with a 26-1 ?ľ (7.97) mark.
Chris Dykes added four points to the men?™s total as he finished fifth from a two-section final in the 200. Running a time of 20.77 for third in the second section, Dykes was fifth overall. Tennessee?™s Rubin Williams won the event with a 20.36 clocking.
With a time of 20.76 for second place in the fourth heat, Chris Dykes recorded the No. 3 performance on the Aggie all-time list in qualifying for the fast section of the final.
?I knew it was going to be a fast heat and I was ready,? Dykes said. ?I just wanted to get into a competitive environment and do what we do best. Coach Henry had me ready for this level of racing and it?™s great to earn another All-America honor.?
Simone Facey won the first section of the 200 final in 22.94 seconds, a career best indoors for the senior, who finished fifth overall. She earned her seventh All-America honor as an Aggie, tying her on the all-time A&M list with Clora Williams and Andre Cason.
?It?™s a tough meet and everybody is competing very hard,? Facey noted. ?I didn?™t make it through in the 60, but I came back and ran an indoor PR in the 200. I was really happy with that performance.
?When you are in lane six you can?™t really see anyone else for most of the race. I just have to execute and that?™s what I did. I?™m excited since it was a personal best for me.?
A pair of freshman advanced to the finals in sprint events on Friday, Gerald Phiri in the men?™s 60 meters and Jessica Beard in the women?™s 400.
Beard turned in the fourth fastest qualifying mark in the semifinals of the 400 to reach the faster of the two-section final on Saturday. Her time of 52.77 placed second to Iowa?™s Kineke Alexander mark of 52.63 in the third heat of the semis. Miami?™s Krista Simkins posted the top time of 51.95.
Phiri posted the sixth best qualifying mark with a 6.65 clocking that was just 0.01 shy of his school record of 6.64. Phiri was runner-up to Clemson?™s Travis Padgett, who ran 6.61. Big 12 Champion Julius Walker of Texas Tech ran 6.69 and did not advance.
In the women?™s 60-meter qualifying Facey and Lucas were just on the edge of advancing to the final. Facey placed second in the first heat, clocking 7.28 with the ninth fastest time. The top eight marks made the final. Lucas, running in the same heat with Facey and placing fourth, ran 7.32 for the 11th fastest mark on the day.
Jennifer Williams placed seventh in her heat of the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.34 and did not advance to the final.
Ashika Charan, who will contest the triple jump on Saturday, finished 12th in the long jump. Her best mark of 20-1.5 (6.13) came in the second round.