Day 4 NCAA Quotes

Provid2009 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.”

Day 3 – Friday, June 12, 2009

Brianne Theisen, Oregon, Women’s Heptathlon
“I had two bad throws in the javelin, and knew if I was going to pull this thing off I needed to improve. As soon as it came out of my hand on that third throw I knew it was a good one, and it was like a weight was off my shoulders. I knew that if I was leading going into the 800 I would be in great shape.”

Stevi Large, Akron, Women’s Hammer
“I had a big throw on my first throw, and I didn’t really know whether or not it would hold up. It was a downer to wait out the rain delay, and I wasn’t feeling as great when we came back out. Watching those last few throws was scary, and I’m just glad my mark held up.”

Marcel Lomnicky, Virginia Tech, Men’s Hammer
“I’m happy with the win, but I think I could have thrown a little better. Coming in, I knew what I wanted to throw and I didn’t meet that expectation. I’ll continue to work and get back at it again next season.”

Jason Colwick, Rice, Men’s Pole Vault
“Today was amazing. The weather was perfect, and I wanted to try to come out and defend my indoor title. I didn’t do very well at conference, but regionals went well and today went really well. It feels great.”

Destinee Hooker, Texas, Women’s High Jump
“I can sum it up by just saying ‘it’s a blessing.’ It’s a blessing to come out here and compete, but to win my fourth title it truly is a great feeling to have. I think I got a good rest after redshirting last year, and was ready to come off that strong.”

Rachel Yurkovich, Oregon, Women’s Javelin
“I wanted it really bad, and I wasn’t going to be satisfied with that first throw. I don’t really know where those distances came from, they were huge PRs. Right time to peak, I guess.”

Kylie Hutson, Indiana State, Women’s Pole Vault
“The rain delay kind of scared us all, no one knew what to expect. When I finally got on the runway I had to keep telling myself to be big and keep my shoulders back. I couldn’t let any nerves or frustrations keep me from being my best so I had to talk my way through it.”

Scott Sellers, Kansas State, Men’s High Jump
“It’s been an up and down year for me performance-wise, but to sweep both the indoor and outdoor is awesome. I would’ve liked to have jumped a little higher, but I can’t complain with a national championship.”

Chris Hill, Georgia, Men’s Javelin
“I’ve been hurt, and wasn’t really the favorite I don’t think coming into the competition. It’s nice to just be able to go out and compete without having that bulls eye on your back. The whole family showed up to watch me, so it was really special to be able to win this in front of all of them..”

Texas A&M, Women’s 4×100-meter relay
(Gabby Mayo, anchor) “I had no idea how fast it was. We knew we wanted to break a record, and we did it. We’re so happy with that—so happy. Two more races to go, but this one feels really good.”

Florida, Men’s 4×100-meter Relay
(Jeremy Hall, anchor) “I saw Texas A&M out of the corner of my eye when I got the baton, so my immediate goal was to hold them off. Once it was in my hands, I had my eyes set on the finish line and that national championship. We knew we were capable of this when the season started, and it great to see all that hard work pay off.”

Jennifer Barringer, Colorado, Women’s Steeplechase
“This was an exciting win. I’m happy to have it behind me. It’s tough to come in and be a heavy favorite. I just had to keep my mind right and go out there and take care of business. It felt great.”

Kyle Perry, BYU, Men’s Steeplechase
“I knew if everything went right I could win it. I didn’t think I would go sub-8:30 after finishing fourth at the regional. I fought through some injuries earlier in the outdoor season, and faced some days where this didn’t seem possible. But I’m here.”

Alexandria Anderson, Texas, Women’s 100 meters
“I didn’t start as well as I wanted to. After the first 10 meters I was where I wanted to be and was able to move up. It feels great to finally get an individual national championship. All the seniors come out here knowing they have one last shot, so it’s now or never.”

Trindon Holliday, LSU, Men’s 100 meters
“I didn’t get the start I wanted, but I pulled even at about 50 meters and was able to keep accelerating. I’ve been second and third in this event in the past, so I really wanted to come out and have a good showing in my final outdoor meet. Let’s try to do it again indoors.”

Nicole Leach, UCLA, Women’s 400-meter hurdles
“The time wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be, but a win is a win. It felt like any other race. It never really occurred to me that it was for a national title. I just went out and ran my race.”

Jeshua Anderson, Men’s 400-meter hurdles
“It’s been rough since that injury at Mt. Sac (Relays). The hamstring has just started feeling better. I felt like I was pretty much in control the whole way, but it was a tough race. Tougher than last year, but not surprising.”

Angela Bizzarri, Illinois, Women’s 5,000 meters
“The pace was slow at the beginning and I think that really worked in my favor. My original plan was to, no matter where I was, run that last mile under 4:50. I don’t know how well that would have worked out with a quicker pace, but it favored me the way it turned out. National champion—wow.”

Galen Rupp, Oregon, Men’s 5,000 meters
“It was tactical to say the least. I was pretty tired but I knew if I slipped, even one position, that’s two points that could cost us the team title. I wanted to make sure I held up my end for the team.”

NOTE: Galen Rupp is the first NCAA distance runner to ever capture five national titles in a single season (Indoor, Outdoor, Cross Country)

Day 4 – Saturday, June 13, 2009

Martin Maric, California, Men’s Discus
“I wasn’t really happy with any of my throws in the final until that last one, but my preliminary stuff was awesome. I’m glad to have the national championship, but I really need to find some consistency with my throws. But if that’s all I have to be concerned with I think I’m in good shape.”

D’Andra Carter, Texas Tech, Women’s Discus
“I tried not to get too bogged down with the fact that this was a national championship event. When everything was culminating at the end and I knew I had a shot to win, it all came to me at once. I had to stay composed and let it fly. It feels so great to finally be a national champion.”

Will Claye, Oklahoma, Men’s Triple Jump
“It’s a blessing to even be here. I can’t explain the feeling. To go out and get that 56 (feet) felt great. At that point I knew I had a great shot to win it, it was just a matter of hoping, praying and waiting.”

Kimberly Williams, Florida State, Women’s Triple Jump
“It was a pretty tough weekend. This was the first time I’ve jumped all four days (with the long jump) and I took all of my jumps in each round, so today I just had to refocus and concentrate. I had to adjust for the wind so that my steps were right, but I’m very happy with this win.”

Joanna Atkins, Auburn, Women’s 400 meters
“I was nervous about having to do it from lane eight. I had to stay calm and relaxed and just run the way I know I’m capable of. That was a tough lane draw, and you hear people say that’s it’s hard to win it from out there. It’s possible.”

Jonathan Borlee, Florida State, Men’s 400 meters
“That was a great race for me to run a PR and win the race, so I’m happy with that. Running with (brother) Kevin is great for us because we can push each other in practice and keep getting better.”

Geena Gall, Michigan, Women’s 800 meters
“I wanted to wait and see what was going to happen with the pack. The leaders went out fast like I thought they would, and I think it was favorable for me. I have a national championship and a PR so I’m happy with it.”

Andrew Wheating, Oregon, Men’s 800 meters
“I had to work for that one. The last 300 meters were tough, and I had to kind of grit it out. We got the 10 points, that’s all that really matters.”

Porscha Lucas, Texas A&M, Women’s 200 meters
“Coach has just been telling us to do what we do. After we picked up eight points in the 400, I knew I needed to hold up my end and come out and win this to keep us in the hunt.” I did what I could—I gave it everything I had.”

Charles Clark, Florida State, Men’s 200 meters
“I knew I had to get out quick, because my last 100 or so hasn’t been great. I got out of the blocks well and knew as soon as we turned the corner that I had the best shot to bring it home. I guess it was with about 20 meter to go that I knew I had it.”

Tiffany Ofili, Michigan, Women’s 100-meter hurdles
“Yesterday didn’t go the way I wanted to at all, but I did what I had to do to get into the final. Today was a new day and I knew if I kept my composure and ran the way I knew I could I would be fine.”

Ronnie Ashe, Bethune Cookman, Men’s 110-meter hurdles
“I knew Jason [Richardson] was going to come out hard. I think he may have slipped out of the blocks a little bit, and that was the only window I needed. It feels good to defend my indoor title against a field like this. I knew I had to bring my A-game, and I did.”

Susan Kuijken, Florida State, Women’s 1,500 meters
“That last 300 was crazy. I started to open it up and looked back and realized everyone else was coming. It seemed a little early, but I felt good and turned it on. This is awesome.”

German Fernandez, Oklahoma State, Men’s 1,500 meters
“The conditions weren’t great, I thought it was little humid when the race started. I wanted to be sure and set and set and honest pace, though. It turned out to be a great race and a great finish. I was just thinking ‘you’re almost there, don’t quit now’ down the front stretch, and I was able to hold off the field. Wow, great race.”

Texas, Women’s 4×400-meter relay
(Chantel Malone, anchor) “Coach told me this morning that I was going to anchor. We are a young team, but being a sophomore I felt like I had the experience to get it done. I got the baton with about a seven-meter lead, and knew that if I could hang on, we’d be national champions. Age doesn’t really matter as much as experience in this race. We are young, but experienced, and I think we showed that.”

Charles Clark, Florida State, Men’s 4×400-meter relay
(Charles Clark) “We knew we had to win it to have a shot at the team title. Everything else was going to take care of itself, but we absolutely had to win it. We won it, but credit (Texas) A&M for coming up big as well. I think we’re all happy with this title, though.”