June 25, 2010
DES MOINES, Iowa - Four Aggie track and field athletes were involved in finals during Friday's session of the USATF Championships at Drake Stadium and two of them placed seventh. Texas A&M decathlete Trinity Otto had a strong start in the first day of the multi-event and is currently in second place.
Aggie volunteer assistant Wallace Spearmon ran 10.30 in the men's 100 final to place fourth. Walter Dix won the race in 10.04 with a headwind of 1.5. Spearmon was just 0.03 from the runner-up position as Trell Kimmons finished second in 10.27 while Ivory Williams placed third in 10.29.
Aggie jumper Zuheir Sharif, another A&M jumper placed ninth in the triple jump. In the U.S. Junior meet Aggie thrower Casey Strong finished 11th in the hammer.
Tarmoh ran in lane 1 of the women's 100 final, clocking an 11.45 into a 2.5 headwind. Allyson Felix won the U.S. title in 11.27 with LaShunte'a Moore runner-up at 11.34 and Tianna Madison third in 11.43.
"I felt so good in the beginning of the race through the first 80 meters," Tarmoh said. "I don't know if I couldn't hold it anymore, but overall I'm happy with what I've done. I'm excited and happy to have run in the final.
"It's a confidence boost for me. It's a little step to something big. I feel like next year, and year's to come, making the final won't be as hard for me because I've done it before. Once you've done it once you can do it again."
In the semifinals Tarmoh placed fourth to earn a lane in the final. She clocked 11.49 running into a headwind of 1.7. The first semifinal had to deal with a 3.3 headwind. Tarmoh was in the lane adjacent to Felix, who won the race in 11.38. The other semifinal winner was Moore in 11.37.
"This felt like a precursor for me when I'm trying to move up to another level in this sport racing against more developed athletes," Tarmoh said of her semifinal experience. "I'm glad I got to race against Felix.
"Every competition we had during the season was conducive to preparing us for Eugene and NCAA Championships. Running against a headwind I didn't train to well for those conditions, but there is a first time for everything."
Trinity Otto won a pair of events during the first day of the decathlon and ended the first day in second place with a score of 4,152 points. Tom Pappas leads the field of 12 decathletes with 4,234 points while Joe Detmer is third with 4,142 points.
"To be in second place is a great feeling," Otto said. "Coming off Eugene I was riding a high. There were one or two events I wish I had done better today, because I was able to do better in them at NCAAs.
"The atmosphere here is different than in Eugene, where it was amazing with all the fans. Here it's more quite and the competition is different. It's every man for himself and you're not competing for a team."
In opening the competition with a wind-aided 10.73 in the 100 meters, Otto also claimed the top mark in the long jump with a windy leap of 24-3.5 (7.40). Those efforts earned Otto 922 and 910 points, respectively.
"It was a different feeling for me to go out and win the first two events," stated Otto. "I was happy with the 100, but I still think I have a better long jump in me that I didn't get."
Otto reached a distance of 44-11 in the shot put and cleared 6-4 in the high jump. He closed out the first day with a solid 48.79 in the 400 for 871 points. Pappas picked up points on the field with an impressive 55-4.25 shot put mark, but slipped back with a 51.60 in the 400.
"The 400 brought me back up and I'm ready for the second day," Otto noted. "I know where my strengths are on the second day as well as my weak areas. I just need to stay strong in the events I do well in and try to pick up points in the weaker events."
Stewart recorded a windy best of 53-8.25 (16.36) in the second round of the triple jump and that effort had him in fourth place. After the third round he was in seventh.
While Stewart briefly moved in to sixth place with a wind-aided 53-2.75 (16.22) in the sixth round, improving his second best jump in the competition, Nkosinza Balumbu broke the tie with a final jump of 54-2.5. Stewart dropped back into seventh while Balumba improved to fifth.
Sharif was in eighth place after the second round with his first round effort of a wind-aided 52-7.5 (16.04), but missed making the final three rounds by half an inch. Sharif was ninth as eight jumpers moved to the final three rounds.
In the U.S. Junior hammer Casey Strong placed 11th with a career best toss of 189-3 (57.68). He had the same mark as the 10th place finisher, but dropped to 11th place based on the second best mark for each thrower.
"It was great to finally get out there and represent Texas A&M and be in the uniform," Strong said. "I was real excited to finally compete for A&M in a meet."
Strong spent his first season with the Aggies training in the hammer as a redshirt freshman. Prior to the U.S. Junior meet, Green competed unattached in Austin and threw a best of 186-3 to place second at the Texas Invitational.
"When I started throwing the hammer this season, things started picking up pretty fast," noted Casey. "Coach De La Garza has done a great job teaching me the event."
Using a slightly lighter hammer (2.8 lbs difference) at the Junior meet, Casey improved by three feet on his previous best.
"It's been a great season and I'm proud of my improvement in the event," said Casey. "I've learned a lot and I'm looking forward to throwing for Texas A&M next season."