Dix cruises to 100 finals, Texas A&M's Lucas falters
Posted: Thursday, June 12, 2008
DES MOINES (AP) -- Walter Dix cruised into the finals Wednesday night in his bid for a third and final NCAA 100-meter title.
The 5-foot-9 Florida State cannonball won his first heat, even though he swiveled his head to watch the opposition in the final 50 meters. He ran a 10.34 semi to finish second in the heat to LSU's Trindon Holliday's 10.34 and advance to Friday's' finals.
"A nice, relaxed finish," Dix said. "I tried to focus on my start."
Travis Padgett of Clemson won the other semi in 10.20. LSU's Richard Thompson was second at 10.33.
Texas A&M's bid for the women's team title suffered a setback when Porscha Lucas failed to make it to the 100 finals. The sophomore was fifth in her heat in a slow 11.79, 0.61 off her season's best.
The sprints were run into a strong headwind, with evening gusts reaching 35 mph in advance of a storm front that was moving toward already water-soaked Des Moines.
"It was a tough start. I think the wind got me a little bit," Lucas said. "I'm sad, but I've got to get my head back together for the 200 tomorrow."
LSU, meanwhile, qualified three to the finals -- Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Samantha Henry and Juanita Broaddus. Baptiste was the fastest qualifier in 11.28.
"Before the race, what I was thinking about was my teammates made it," Baptiste said, "because it's the points that matter."
Two-time defending champion Florida State and LSU are expected to fight for the men's' team title. Defending champion Arizona State figures to join LSU and Texas A&M in the mix for the women's crown.
There were no finals on the opening day of competition on the powder blue track of Drake Stadium, hosting the NCAAs for the first time in 38 years. The stadium is high and dry, far from the swollen Iowa rivers and streams that have caused severe flood damage across the state.
A thunderstorm delayed the decathlon competition for 2.5 hours Wednesday morning, pushing the event's schedule later into the day.
Dix, seeking his fifth individual NCAA outdoors title, was sidelined for a month with a strained left hamstring and said he has done full training for just three weeks.
Thompson, a senior from Trinidad who swept the 100 and 200 at the SEC championships, entered the meet with the field's best time of 9.93 seconds. Only Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay have run faster in the world this year.
Dix cruised to victory in his first-round heat. Running from lane eight, he turned his head to the left, watched his competitors and still ran 10.57 into a 6.5 meters-per-second headwind.
"It felt like slow motion," Dix said. "There wasn't anybody moving. It was a relaxed race."
Thompson was a close second to Teddy Williams of UTEP in his first heat. Both were clocked at 10.57. Florida freshman Terrell Wilks was the fastest first-round qualifier at 10.49.
LSU and Texas A&M men and women cruised into Friday night's finals in the 400 relay. LSU was the fastest men's qualifier at 39.11. Texas A&M was second fastest at 39.13. Texas A&M was the fastest women's qualifier at 43.19, followed by LSU's 43.35.
Oregon sophomore Ashton Eaton set a meet record in the decathlon 400 at 47.25 and led through five events with 4,289 points. Favorite Jangy Addy of Tennessee, the SEC scholar-athlete of the year with a 3.56 GPA in journalism and electronic media, was second at 4,238.
The 5-foot-9 Florida State cannonball won his first heat, even though he swiveled his head to watch the opposition in the final 50 meters. He ran a 10.34 semi to finish second in the heat to LSU's Trindon Holliday's 10.34 and advance to Friday's' finals.
"A nice, relaxed finish," Dix said. "I tried to focus on my start."
Travis Padgett of Clemson won the other semi in 10.20. LSU's Richard Thompson was second at 10.33.
Texas A&M's bid for the women's team title suffered a setback when Porscha Lucas failed to make it to the 100 finals. The sophomore was fifth in her heat in a slow 11.79, 0.61 off her season's best.
The sprints were run into a strong headwind, with evening gusts reaching 35 mph in advance of a storm front that was moving toward already water-soaked Des Moines.
"It was a tough start. I think the wind got me a little bit," Lucas said. "I'm sad, but I've got to get my head back together for the 200 tomorrow."
LSU, meanwhile, qualified three to the finals -- Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Samantha Henry and Juanita Broaddus. Baptiste was the fastest qualifier in 11.28.
"Before the race, what I was thinking about was my teammates made it," Baptiste said, "because it's the points that matter."
Two-time defending champion Florida State and LSU are expected to fight for the men's' team title. Defending champion Arizona State figures to join LSU and Texas A&M in the mix for the women's crown.
There were no finals on the opening day of competition on the powder blue track of Drake Stadium, hosting the NCAAs for the first time in 38 years. The stadium is high and dry, far from the swollen Iowa rivers and streams that have caused severe flood damage across the state.
A thunderstorm delayed the decathlon competition for 2.5 hours Wednesday morning, pushing the event's schedule later into the day.
Dix, seeking his fifth individual NCAA outdoors title, was sidelined for a month with a strained left hamstring and said he has done full training for just three weeks.
Thompson, a senior from Trinidad who swept the 100 and 200 at the SEC championships, entered the meet with the field's best time of 9.93 seconds. Only Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay have run faster in the world this year.
Dix cruised to victory in his first-round heat. Running from lane eight, he turned his head to the left, watched his competitors and still ran 10.57 into a 6.5 meters-per-second headwind.
"It felt like slow motion," Dix said. "There wasn't anybody moving. It was a relaxed race."
Thompson was a close second to Teddy Williams of UTEP in his first heat. Both were clocked at 10.57. Florida freshman Terrell Wilks was the fastest first-round qualifier at 10.49.
LSU and Texas A&M men and women cruised into Friday night's finals in the 400 relay. LSU was the fastest men's qualifier at 39.11. Texas A&M was second fastest at 39.13. Texas A&M was the fastest women's qualifier at 43.19, followed by LSU's 43.35.
Oregon sophomore Ashton Eaton set a meet record in the decathlon 400 at 47.25 and led through five events with 4,289 points. Favorite Jangy Addy of Tennessee, the SEC scholar-athlete of the year with a 3.56 GPA in journalism and electronic media, was second at 4,238.
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