Day 2 NCAA Athlete Quotes

2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
John McDonnell Field - June 10-13, 2009
Fayetteville, Ark.

Day 2 – Thursday, June 11, 2009

Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida State, Men’s Long Jump
“It’s a blessing just to be here after tearing my quad earlier in the season. I can’t thank my coaches enough for getting me here. It’s been a crazy ride, but we won it. Just to be sitting in the position again. It’s a blessing”

Kimberly Williams, Florida State, Women’s Long Jump
“It was nerve-racking after fouling on my first two attempts I went into that last jump with a clear mind. The thought of fouling again never really entered my head. I just knew I had to go out there and do what I’m capable of.”

Mariam Kevkhishvili, Florida, Women’s Shot Put
“Last year was great, but to come back to the NCAAs and repeat as national champion is greater than anything I could’ve imagined. It was great.”

Ryan Whiting, Arizona State, Men’s Shot Put
“It feels good to win my first outdoor crown. I had two indoor titles coming into this meet and really wanted that first outdoor. From here I’m just going to keep at it and hopefully end up in Berlin vying for a world championship.”

NOTE: Whiting is the 12th male student-athlete in NCAA history to win both the indoor and outdoor shot put titles in the same year.

Ashton Eaton, Oregon, Men’s Decathlon
“Coming into the day I felt pretty good. I was upset with the way I performed in the pole vault, I know I’m better than that. I tried to channel some of that frustration into the 1500. [Mateo] Sossah is a great runner, and he was close in the standings going into that final event so I knew I had to dig deep.”

Danette Doetzel, Providence, Women’s 10,000 meters
“I’ve been training really hard, and I knew I was in shape coming in. I was looking forward to this race, but really tried to take it easy early on. The pace came back to me in the last two kilometers or so, and I just took over and was able to hang on.”

Galen Rupp, Oregon, Men’s 10,000 meters
“We all tried to stay upbeat with the weather situations and all, and I knew this was going to be a tough race. It was obvious that [Chelanga and Forrest] wanted to set an honest pace, but I held on and knew just what I had to do and the right time to do it.”

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