NCAA Indoor Championship Is Where Amazing Happened

-College Station, Texas

- After a two day campaign at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship at the Gilliam Track & Field Stadium at Texas A&M the standout star was Galen Rupp, who stood at the center of Oregon’s 16th national championship.  The 22-year old Olympian swept the 3000m, 5000m and anchored the Distance Medley Relay to victory.

Over the last two laps of the 5,000m, Rupp unleashed a fierce kick to win in 13:41.45.  Less than two hours later, he anchored the DMR relay to a first place finish.

Tennessee senior Sarah Bowman picked up her first NCAA Indoor title and third national crown in dramatic fashion, out-leaning Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego at the finish to win in 4:29.72. Bowman’s time, a personal best and school record, is the seventh fastest in the world this season and broke the NCAA meet record of 4:30.63 set in 1989 by Wisconsin’s Suzy Favor.

Bowman’s victory denied Kipyego a 10th career national title.

There is a first time for everything.  Tennessee’s Sarah Bowmen won her first NCAA Indoor title in a dramatic race, out-leaning Texas Tech Sally Kipyego at the finish to win in 4:29.82.  The time is a personal best and school record broke the NCAA meet record of 4:30.63 set by Wisconsin’s Suzy Favor in 1989.

A new star emerges at nearly every national meet. The year that billing goes to South Carolina’s LaKaya Brookings for entering the 60 meter with the slowest qualifying time of the field.  On Saturday she surprised nearly everyone when she won the NCAA title in 7.13 seconds.

Timing is everything and Hampton’s Francena McCorory was not the favorite coming into the race as a matter of fact she came into the meet relatively unknown despite having run some fast times this season already.  After winning the 400 meters in 51.55 seconds out the first heat the a number of the working media was not familiar with the Historical Black University located in Hampton, Virigina.  Now more people know Francena McCorory and Hampton University after her first NCAA title.

Michael Johnson is the last Baylor 200 meter NCAA title at Baylor.  That is until Trey Harts wrote his name in the record books won the 200 meters with a personal-best time of 20.63, recording the second-fastest time in Baylor history behind Michael Johnson’s 20.59 set at the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis in 1989.

Jacob Hernandez University of Texas won the men’s 800m in 1:48.04. Hernandez added the men’s 800-meter championship to the outdoor title he won last June at the distance.  Hernandez led most of the race and managed to hold off Oregon’s Andrew Wheating at the end. Wheating had a great kick at the end as he passed the field to finish second in 1:48.54.

You may not be in full practice but get used to saying the name Tiffany Ofili.  The University of Michigan senior defended her NCAA indoor title in the 60 meter hurdles Saturday and has the skills to run on professional level. Ofili clinched her fourth national title in the process.

Luckily for Ronnie Ash it’s not about how you start the race but how you finish the race. The year the Bethune-Cookmen sophomore was fourth or fifth going into the first hurdle.

Colorado’s Jenny Barringer led the women’s 3000m by a relatively large margin. She finished nearly 15 seconds in front of the field. In a post-race interview, she said her goal was to get a fast time. Barringer got her fast time and a new NCAA meet record of 8:42.03.

Tennesee’s Phoebe Wright (2:04.38) confidently took the lead in the women’s 800m after winning the DMR Friday. Despite a strong effort, she was passed by Lacey Cramer of BYU (2:04.27) at the finish line.

Oregon’s men blew the competition away with 54 points, and the Ducks were followed by Florida (36), Florida State (32), LSU (29) and Baylor (25).

The Aggies finished ninth with 23 points, while Texas followed in 10th with 22.5 points. The Red Raiders earned a 13th place finish with 18 points.

The Tennessee women won their second team title since 2005 with 42 points to 37 for host Texas A&M. The Aggies won the meet-ending 4×400 relay to make it close.

Rupp Sets 5k American Record at Tyson Invitational

By Stephanie Lowe, PreRaceJitters.com - Fayetteville, Ark - Tyson Invitational - Randal Tyson Track Center.

Rupp vs. Chelanga: Part 2
Oregon’s Galen Rupp and Liberty’s Sam Chelanga raced each other for the first time since the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Rupp won that title, but a collegiate record was up for grabs Friday night in the Tyson Invitational 5000m. Read more

Flair For Dramatics – Stucyzynski Breaks American Pole Vault Record

One of the lessons that Jenn Stuzynski learned from her countless attempts at the U.S. indoor national record is that winning is never easy. That’s why she didn’t lose hope at breaking Stacey Dragila’s record at the Boston Indoor Games. The new record 15 feet, 9 3-4 inches, was good enough to win a $25,000 bonus for breaking the world mark.

Kara Goucher won the 3,000 meters in a personal best of 8:46.65 seconds. Sally Kipyego made history setting a new collegiate record of 8:48.77 on Saturday. The previous record of 8:49.28 was held by Kim Smith of Providence set in 2004.

Right now, Olympic champion Steven Hooker of Austrialia is untouchable. He won the men’s pole vault with a height of 19 feet, 10 1/2 inches — the eighth-best in history, and the only person other than Sergei Bubka to reach it.

Flanagan smashes American Record
In the most exciting race, Sentayehu Ejigu of Ethiopia outleaned Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan and hit the tape 0.005 seconds in front to win the women’s 5,000 meters in 14 minutes, 47.613 seconds. Flanagan, who finished with the same official time on the scoreboard, set an American record and also got a $25,000 bonus.

Ethiopian Bekana Daba led from the gun in the men’s 3,000 meters, with Galen Rupp right on his heels. But at the bell lap, Daba was pulling away as Rupp was laboring, and the Ethiopian crossed the line in 7:41.88 ahead of Rupp’s 7:44.69.

Winners in other events
Mike Rodgers continued his streaking winning the 60 meters in 6.58 seconds, just ahead of Darvis Patton (6.61) and Travis Padgett (6.62). Two-time Olympian Terrance Trammell won the 60 meter hurdles in 7.53 seconds ahead of Antwon Hicks (7.68). 2006 NCAA indoor and outdoor 200m champion Shalonda Solomon added a world leader in the Visa women’s 200m dash, winning easily in 23.17.

Photo courtesy: Matthew Healy

Rupp and Oregon Win XC Titles

This season he picked where he left off last season in terms of success and winning. Olympian Galen Rupp managed his first individual NCAA Div I Cross Country Championship title. The 2008 Olympian covered the 10k course in 29:04, leading the University of Oregon to a second consecutive title. Liberty Universities’ Samuel Chelanga led the race from the gun up until the 400-meters mark when Rupp pulled ahead to put away the victory.

“My coaches told me to sit back, be smart and stay focused,” Rupp said. “It was going to come down to a sprint and I relaxed until I was ready to go. I was more patient than last year, and when I made my move it was decisive. With about 800m to go I heard someone say ‘Remember last year,’ and that helped me win.”

The Red Raider football team isn’t the only of the schools sports to discover winning ways this season. Sally Kipyego solidified her three consecutive women’s title. In flying over the 6 km course in 19:29, Kipyego became the winningest women’s cross country runner in Division I history.

Susan Kuijen of Florida State managed to stay within striking distance through half-way, but Kipyego easily pulled away for a six-second win. The University of Washington won the women’s team title over Oregon with 79 points.

“It was cold and windy and the hardest of my three wins,” Kipyego said. “I tried to stay positive and run my best race. It’s an amazing feeling and a wonderful opportunity.”

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.