Tadese Feels Good, Ready to Tackle Bekele Again

Story written by Eric.

Don't blame Zersenay Tadese if he prefers the taste of gold over silver or bronze. He's risen up in the athletics world and can afford to be picky over which one he appreciates over another.

Tadese, the returning IAAF World Cross Country gold medalist from Eritrea, earned his stripes under oppressive and life-threatening conditions in Mombassa, Kenya last March.

Tadese, now 26, took the Kenyan heat and humidity by the neck and fired up his own storm on the course, breaking Kenenisa Bekele's stride and spirit along the way to win his first world championship and ending Bekele's stronghold at the top at five-consecutive wins.

The two powerful men who both possess an amazing supply of strength, will-power and determination, will be back at it again on Sunday, facing off together over the long course race in Edinburgh's Holyrood Park in the 36th edition of this early-season fitness test during the Olympic year.

Bekele, who is attempting to win a sixth title and break a tie he holds with two legends - John Ngugi and Paul Tergat, both of Kenya, is focussing on a one-off race this time around after winning 10 gold medals in the past 12 men's events contested over both the long- and short-course events.

Bekele was on target last season to make a serious late-race bid to break away from the field - which was collectively suffering from exhaustion and severe heat loss, but was unable to shake off Tadese, who crept up to Bekele and would not be intimidated by the 24-year-old Ethiopian multiple world record-holder.

Bekele made a hard move to shake his rival, who had never before defeated him on the fields, but paid a heavy price in the race and was forced to abandon his plans to repeat as champion and to continue on with regular training for two months following that endeavour.

Tadese, on the other hand, had an opportunity to shake off the field at his calling and dictate a race pace from up front which punished any pursuers not already within an armshot of him.

The reward? A golden opportunity he would never forget.

Tadese was no slouch on the cross country course prior to winning last year's world championships, nor was he a lightweight on the track.

Having won the 2006 World 20km championships, Tadese also brought 12.59,27 and 26.37,25 personal bests also set in 2006 to keep his focus up with Bekele and to block out the heat - something he had been working on at his training base in Spain.

Both men are looking forward to tomorrow for different reasons.

Bekele, who has raced sparingly this season - recording a world-record in the 2-mile indoors in Birmingham (8.04,35) and a 12km cross country victory on this very Edinburgh course in January, is attempting to regain the crown which eluded him last year and set himself as the overwhelming favourite to win the Olympic 10.000m crown in August in Beijing.

A victory over his rivals would mean that Bekele's forced withdrawal last year was due solely to the elements, and not to being outdone by his rivals.

A loss, on the other hand, would keep Bekele on his competitors' radars and make him even more vulnerable to defeat than he was when he had to dig down deep in Osaka's 10.000m final at last summer's IAAF World Track & Field Championships.

Tadese, whose season has been derailed by two losses in three cross country competitions - including a tick in the ledger against Bekele in Edinburgh, is out to run his own race and compete his best against the entire field, not just Bekele.

"It’s not a matter of fearing anyone," he told the IAAF on Saturday. "I just run my own race."

A race is what the fans lining up the course in rainy conditions will get from two fresh athletes who both know the feeling of victory and the pursuit of near perfection as they tread over water holes, through the mud and push their bodies to their limits for about 34 minutes of time.

Tadese lost a close one to Bekele on 12-January, with the steely Ethiopian stating afterward that it was a very important victory for him. The race was contested over a 9,3km layout on this very site.

Bekele, the world record-holder at 5.000m and 10.000m, looks to be a favourite in a race up to 12km, or the distance contested at the World Championships.

Tadese, on the other hand, has virtually snuck up on the world, having run 58.59 over the half-marathon distance to win last year's IAAF Half Marathon World Championships in October and set a national record in the process. His 10.000m ability may now be faster than the listed 26.37,25 he was able to set in finishing second to Kenyan Micah Kogo in Bruxelles.

The combination of improved track times and excellent road times may hold a slight advantage for Tadese over a longer distance, but Bekele, who has continually demonstrated excellent sprint speed at the end of long track races, may yet pull one out against anyone in the field who is near with only a surge and a kick the only thing separating the victor from the finish line.

At any rate, the vibes are hot, the athletes are cool, and the fans hope the weather warms as the senior men and women as well as the junior division athletes embark on a mission which should last each participant a lifetime.

This is a first-of-a-kind for many of the junior athletes, who are 19-years-old and younger, and is meant as a stepping stone for them to make their way to the senior ranks.

Bekele was 9th in the 1999 junior division in Belfast, and came back to win the 2001 junior title in Ooestende.

The Kenyan men's senior team will have five athletes who are making their senior debut.


IAAF World Cross Country Championships
Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland
Race Times:

13.00: Women's Junior Race. Start List.
13.30: Men's Junior Race. Start List.
14.05: Women's Senior Race. Start List.
14.45: Men's Senior Race. Start List.

Zersenay Tadese's Cross Country and Road Racing Merits:

20 Kilometres

• 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships 1 f 56:01 Debrecen 08/10/2006

Half Marathon

• 2nd IAAF World Road Running Championships 1 f 58:59 Udine 14/10/2007
• 12th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships 7 f 1:01:26 Vilamoura 04/10/2003
• 11th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships 21 f 1:03:05 Bruxelles 05/05/2002

Senior Race

• 35th IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 35:50 Mombasa 24/03/2007

Long Race

• 34th IAAF World Cross Country Championships 4 f 35:47 Fukuoka 02/04/2006
• 33rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2 f 35:20 St Etienne - St Galmier 20/03/2005
• 32nd IAAF World Cross Country Championships 6 f 36:37 Bruxelles 21/03/2004
• 31st IAAF World Cross Country Championships 9 f 37:10 Lausanne 30/03/2003
• 30th IAAF/Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships 30 f 36:37 Dublin 24/03/2002

Kenenisa Bekele's Cross Country Merits:

Junior Race

• IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 25:04 Oostende 25/03/2001
• 27th IAAF World Cross Country Championships 9 f 26:27 Belfast 28/03/1999

Short Race

• 34th IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 10:54 Fukuoka 01/04/2006
• 33rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 11:33 St Etienne - St Galmier 19/03/2005
• 32nd IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 11:31 Bruxelles 20/03/2004
• 31st IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 11:01 Lausanne 29/03/2003
• 30th IAAF/Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships 1 f 12:11 Dublin 23/03/2002
• IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2 f 12:42 Oostende 24/03/2001

Long Race

• 34th IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 35:40 Fukuoka 02/04/2006
• 33rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 35:06 St Etienne - St Galmier 20/03/2005
• 32nd IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 35:52 Bruxelles 21/03/2004
• 31st IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1 f 35:56 Lausanne 30/03/2003
• 30th IAAF/Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships 1 f 34:52 Dublin 24/03/2002

Stats courtesy of IAAF

Itching For An Athletics Career? Try London 2012

Story Written by Eric.

Do you finally have that spring itch tapping against the better of your senses right now as the depths of the winter have finally succumbed to longer daylight hours?

The signs aren't difficult to recognise because that unsettling feeling usually crops up around Christmas and makes you more and more restless after the Superbowl and March Madness pass on by.

That itchy feeling crawls up the walls of your personal satisfaction, and it typically appears at times when your peak interest in a particular sporting event has just expired.

When you're high on life and sports you're happier at work. When you're not "in season" you may find yourself simply going through the motions until something else rekindles that fire or provides you with that kick.

I think we all do it at some point during the year, with some of us having more noticeable "sessions" than others, depending on what part of the year our sport crowns its champions.

My particular ebb-and-flow line is perhaps more even than are others, as I have three peak seasons in the sport of athletics per calendar year, but I have a great career that gives me flexibility to wander into things imagined by some, but not really real.

The Athletics in the News subscriber base around the globe is growing per day, and folks' interests and opportunities to participate in the sport are as varied as are their locations.

Are you as a reader of this site an aspiring athlete who has a burning desire to make it big as a professional in your desired sport, but don't know yet if your dreams will materialise?

Perhaps you have been a great armchair fan who has thought about what "the life" would be like, but gave up the gossamer mind fiction for the 8-5 reality - or, worse, 11pm-7am.

Maybe there's a remote possibility that you've considered a career in athletics, but you've either not known where to look for such open positions or lacked the right connections and never gave it much thought.

Or, even better, perhaps some of you here are aspiring sports writers looking for that one break to make it into a consultative setting covering a live event for a professional team.

Do any of the above describe you with relation to your interest or passion for sport?

I am an HR Analyst who has worked for 14 years in the United States, the United Kingdom, and here in my home country, Sweden on various large-scale projects and made a volume's worth of hiring decisions over the years.

I've always had the desire to translate my work experience into the sport of athletics, but have never really had that opportunity until now. More on that later.

I've volunteered as an anti-doping officer in my sport of passion, track & field, but have never earned a salary in the industry in any way, shape, or form.

Anti-doping work is very challenging to find if you're unable to move to the governing body's headquarters—Monaco in my case. Those volunteer stages take place at either the World-, European-, or national-level championships.

I bumped into a particular sports recruiting site three years ago and decided to peruse the open jobs they had available. I wasn't looking to change careers, but rather stumbled upon a particular job board whilst doing HR recon for a client.

Nothing at that exact moment piqued my interest, but I did submit my e-mail address for NHL and NBA job alerts.

I'm pleased to state that I've not been bombarded back to yonder with irrelevant positions, but have actually gotten wind of quite a few entry level to executive positions which could have turned into great careers had I been willing and ready to make such a move.

You may be remarkably surprised if you've not previously taken a close look at career sites marketing sports-related positions.

If you've not previously given much thought to putting your time and energy where you can actually make money enjoying yourself, take time to look at a site like Monster or Teamwork Online and discover what actually does await you in the professional world of sports.

Would you like to be an sports analyst for an NHL team? A web developer for a professional basketball organisation? A Marketing Coordinator for an NFL team? Careers like these and others are out there for the taking, so to speak.

If you're reading this site with any regularity, you've passed the sniff test and have gained a great appreciation of this sport inside and out.

If you're feeling the need for change or are simply interested in knowing what else is out there besides the job you may currently be undertaking, do visit a sports-related recruiting site today. There are more than 800 positions advertised on one site at this very minute. The list continues growing (and shrinking) every day.

If you fancy the need for change and are up to the task of putting your skills where your passion is, try venturing down a path in a sports-related field. The rewards and benefits of doing exactly what you feel is your calling should far outweigh the trouble it may take to submit a CV.

You may not be playing golf with Tiger Woods, but you may find yourself rubbing elbows with him instead.

And, if that's not what fancies you - this is a sports site about track and field after all, here's a grand opportunity which you certainly must consider if you are looking to work on a large project, have an excellent reference on your CV and/or add an incredibly large client base to your business in the future.

Are you ready for the big secret?

London 2012 is its name.

Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, is quoted in today's Yorkshire Post (link) as stating:

"With over £6bn of contracts available, businesses need to act now to make the most of the opportunities available between now and 2012.

"Delivering the Games is a massive logistical operation, requiring goods and services from a large number of firms.

"Businesses the length and breadth of the country will win contracts and gain a huge amount of experience of what it takes to stage and host big sporting events."

If you're not likely located in England or planning on moving to the country in the next quarter or so, do consider making a unique business proposition to London 2012 to take advantage of the stream of opportunity available to businesses and their supporting Olympic ventures.

And, if you're simply interested in working on a London 2012 project, click here to learn more about the excellent positions they will have available throughout the phases of development up through the closing ceremonies.

A key example of the types of opportunities they have available is:

• Head of NOC and NPC Relations and Services: Opportunity for an individual to lead the team responsible for establishing the plans and managing NOC and NPC relations on key activities such as Pre-Games Training Camps, Olympic Village and Paralympic Village requirements, the Chef de Mission Programme and visits.

If you're a leader and love this sport, this could be a fit for you.

Athletics in the News is taking advantage of the open door by presenting a business opportunity to London 2012 which will keep fans entertained in the Olympics long after the closing hours.

I love this time of the year, because it's the upswing following traditionally long winter months, the sun begins to set later in the day, and athletes and fans begin making their ways to tracks and stadiums all around the globe in search for the right harmony between performance and entertainment.

This is an especially impressive time of the year, because the Olympic hand-off has now gotten underway between Athens and the new host city, Beijing. An Olympic spirit is in the air, semi-retired folks will make one last attempt to (re)gain glory once demonstrated but never really captured and others will dream of things which seem too good to be true.

That's why I encourage you to make a difference to yourself and search around for a fit which may suit your interests, passions and skill sets. Strange things happen in Olympic years, so why shouldn't a bit of magic happen for you?

About Track, News, Sharks and Things in Between

Story written by Eric.

When was the last time you made a re-discovery of something you knew was right under your nose, but had never really taken a peek to see it take off and flourish?

A recent jaunt over to Trackshark.com, a site created and run by Tom Borish - a man who sped to 21,29/47,22 sprint bests as a collegian, was more than a mild surprise to me during the NCAA Track and Field Indoor Championships.

I've always associated Trackshark as a specific niche market for collegians, so naturally I migrated there to search for information leading up to the two-day meet in Fayetteville.

What I got sucked into when I arrived was an entire new world of fandom which I had never before been part of in the several championship seasons I'd spent perusing other websites and bulletin boards.

The posters there were passionate. That's a great start when attempts to create synergy between what they have and what I had to bring. They were also possessed an incredible sense of knowledge and understanding, as the folks whom they were discussing were in fact their own peers.

Finally, one stark difference between my engagement with folks there and anywhere else on the internet is that looking in on the NCAA Indoor Championships felt like I had joined one huge, global party and everyone was celebrating great things happening in the sport.

Have you ever had one of those spectactor moments when the x's and o's were all perfectly aligned and information and results were published instantaneously through a live blog with scores of participants?

I experienced that at Trackshark thanks to a commitment Borish made to keep his faithful informed, involved and in complete touch with the throws, jumps, vaults and times young adults were achieving at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center.

Track & Field News, the "Bible of the Sport", had the only live journalist on-site providing up-to-date information via a blog which Dave Johnson was able to submit a total of 10 times each of the two days he was there.

The coverage was excellent. Splits, lanes, names and times were all accounted for from one event to the next, and the results were put up timely.

Track & Field News prided itself on being the only source actually on site watching the events unfold, and certainly they had every right to feel proud of that fact.

However, insofar as the NCAA permitted the events to be broadcast live through a link on the host university's sports site, anyone and everyone watching from around the world - including yours truly at god-awful times of the night - had an opportunity to update anyone else caught outside of the meet and away from a clear video stream.

Trackshark and Track & Field News, two successful and incredibly strong sites rich with information, commentary and expertise, provided an incredibly wealthy experience for any fan who happened to switch between the sites in search of the latest on Bianca Knight, Leonel Manzano, Scott Sellers or anyone else wearing university colours and ready to put their best foot forward on the national stage.

Track & Field News had an entire message board dedicated to meet.

Each event contested - heats and finals - had its own thread, and each thread was updated immediately after the main moderator there received the results from Johnson.

Their pre-meet form charts provided fans an opportunity to learn who was picked to finish in which spots, and the information proved to be useful where I lacked certain thoroughness on given athletes.

Garry Hill, the print magasine's Editor and a Chief Officer, was able to successfully flip-flop between heats and finals and keep fans updated on the turn of events by appropriately labelling thread titles and providing concluded events with a designated symbol easy to identify them as being such.

The service was greatly appreciated, and the fans on the site were also a top-notch, highly knowledgeable group who stated afterward that they appreciated the efforts and long hours put in by Hill, Johnson and any associates who were helping to bring the meet "live" through written words.

Trackshark also had one page which it dedicated to the meet, but went a step ahead of Track & Field News by having the story of the meet unfold in a live blog which posters took advantage of participating in once Borish let loose when the meet got underway.

Track & Field News migrated its board into the Current Events forum, and, unfortunately, I believe they lost out in being able to continually tell a story as it happened from the first event to the last.

One can search on the forum for keywords or take the time to attempt to look for the symbols used to signify finals had been contested, but the entire NCAA event seems to have disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

Trackshark's NCAA page is still active, though it takes two efforts to get to it.

Nevertheless, Borish's two blogs serve the public well insofar as one gets a feel of the meet through his own description of the events, and one captures the mood and feel of the atmosphere by reading comments others were making as the events were underway.

I spoke at the beginning of today's entry of being more than surprised at Trackshark when I payed them a visit about 10 days ago for the first time in perhaps two years. I've been there in the past to peruse week-end results and to search for photos following big meets, but hadn't taken a look at their message board after having been loyal to mainly one on the internet the past four years.

If you're a fan of the sport, and have a moment or two available to read about the collegiate scene, do take a gander over to the forums and lurk for a while; you don't have to jump straight in and put in your two cents, but you can find some very interesting and fascinating gems written by athletes and fans alike.

A place like Track & Field News can benefit from having more senior athletes take time to contribute a few topics of interest to the message boards, as it would help their subscribers and board contributors feel an even closer one-ness with the folks whom they discuss but rarely meet.

Allen Johnson made a few comments on a thread written about him before jetting off to Valencia to eventually win a silver medal in the 60m hurdles at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and Brandon Couts has been another US star who has frequented the message boards.

I'm sure more would come if word got out that folks really wanted to hear what they had to say - something they begin doing as high schoolers at Dyestat, and continue to do as collegians at Trackshark.

USA-based Dyestat, a site which has a majority handle on the high school scene, has a strong mix of contributions from stars-on-the-rise as it does from fans who enjoy watching them compete.

Mixing stars together with their fans on an anonymous message board can lend great support to the sport, as fans can gain a deeper, more satisfying understanding of the people who are competing on their television sets and at stadiums near them between January and September year-in and year-out.

Mixing together people's experience gained from participating in an event and keeping it in one spot to live on past its shelf-life also has its benefits.

Perhaps sites can learn a valuable lesson from one another's strengths and apply that to their own the next time a championship comes around.

In the meantime, I'll continue enjoying all I can from any place where discussion is good, people feel like home and everything track, some things field and a little of mustard in between is what's on tap for the evening.


Trackshark's two-day blog was a great asset to the NCAA championship experience. The blog, put together and moderated by Tom Borish, was a timely and lively event-by-event coverage piece which allowed fans from around the world to chip in during the height of the meet and discuss ups-and-downs with others in a live environment.

Conservative Overdose: How A High School Trainer Can Hold Back Too Much

Story written by Eric.

I had a high school trainer whose approach to athletic development was an eight-year one: The first four years of high school were meant to tease you into learning what your strengths were, and the following four years of university running were meant to have you develop a bonafide strategy to utilise those to their fullest potential.

This likely sounds like nearly every one of your own experiences, with the only difference between yours and mine being the location of your school and name of your trainer.

Perhaps.

I competed in a very difficult league my final two years of high school, one which ultimately produced a world junior record-holder the year after his graduation (my grade-12 season).

It was also a league which placed three of five cross country state meet qualifiers and had two state 1.600m finalists to showcase to patrons who had both payed (Cerritos College) and had lined up the Woodward Park course to cheer on their favourite Division I athletes and teams my grade-12 season.

Making it out of league was tough enough. Having to race the same guys in a dual meet, league meet and, ultimately, at the section championships just to get to state was a tall order, and one at which I only succeeded twice my last year before going on to bigger and better things at university - or at least that was the plan, anyway.

I'm sure you've got great war stories to share of your own - and, by all means, please do so at the bottom of this blog, as it would be great to read about your own personal experiences as well.

My trainer made several correct moves in the four years and eight seasons I was under his care. He must have, otherwise our team would never have nearly won the Northern California Cross Country Championships my grade-10 season, and we'd never have put up four-consecutive individual varsity men's league champions in my years there.

He helped two kids ahead of me - and one in my own class - break 15.00 for 3-miles, running 14.30, 14.32 and 14.48, respectively in the same race my grade-10 cross country season.

Moreover, I don't believe I'd have progressed as nicely as I did, from running a 11.18/5.18 double in my first-ever races (grade-9) to finishing my grade-11 season with 1.57,0/4.21,0 personal bests.

He even managed to help me dip under 2.00 my grade-10 season and establish a record (1.59,7) for that grade which has not yet been broken in the 22 years since I borrowed a teammate's spikes and placed second at the league finals.

He was a very wise man, was the trainer, but I wondered then - as I have done on occasion following that chapter two decades removed - if he held back too much in his attempt to ease us through high school, and, yet, had pushed too hard on another end - and here's why.

Magically, I got by the first three seasons on less than 35 miles a week. I never ran on Sundays, and I was never asked to, either. Everything I accomplished in track was done by running "pace", and never anything faster. He discouraged picking up the "pace" in practice sessions, and I only recall a single workout where the 400m splits in a repeat session ever dipped below 64-65 seconds.

Having run a 4.21,0 my grade-11 season was done off of pace workouts like 8x400m with 2.00 rest at 65 pace, or 4x800m at 2.20 pace with the same recovery.

For strength work we did do some hill repeats (our high school was located next to a steep incline approximately 400m long which led to an entire canyon of mountains which appeared to take one to the end of the world if one dared to run that far - which I never did) like 6x600m inclines at 1.40 pace with a jog back down for strength, but I never hit the weightroom like other kids in the league were doing.

I changed plans on my own the summer leading up to my last fall season with the team.

The previous two summers were spent running summer track here, there and out yonder, keeping the same base as I'd had through the spring and contesting a distance 100m less than I had to during the school year.

My final summer before graduation was spent running longer distances, and running every day - something unique to me, and something which I'd not discussed with the trainer. I found myself covering greater distances in my fartlek sessions, and entered the fall campaign in excellent shape.

Then injury struck me. It was untimely and, it seemed unnecessary.

I had pushed one particular workout a bit harder than I had in the past, because my new strength level seemed to afford it, but developed tendonitis in my right knee a few days later after dropping my easy runs from 7.20 pace to 6.45 pace - something which felt natural and which the body seemed to crave.

I was out for three weeks, and, when I returned was put on a slowman's workout plan to ensure the injury didn't re-occur.

In short, I didn't find myself recovered until the 2-Mile Postal Championships - an event run on the track. I ran a 17-second personal best that day in Los Gatos, CA, and finally saw light at the end of a long, three-and-a-half year struggle to be a good cross country runner.

Two weeks later, I dropped my personal best on our home course - a 3,1 mile hilly one which sucks the life out of any runner exercising bad pace judgement during the first 1km - from 17.24 to 16.33 - a time which isn't fully appreciated if one hasn't run the course. The time bode well for high hopes to place at the sectional finals two weeks later, and it was the third-fastest ever run by anyone in my school's history.

Four weeks following my Postal race, I had managed to place second in league and second at the section championships, but I was out of medal contention at the state meet, running 45 seconds slower than I anticipated I would.

I was at the top of the lead pack and in great command of my own race during the first mile, running alongside David Scudamore and ahead of Louie Quintana and eventual winner Bryan Dameworth until something happened to me which would eventually become the story of my high school career and hold me back the first year of university as well: well-meaning pace work would always fall short in the end when competitiveness was meant to take over and push me over the top.

I died a terrible death the final half mile - not so much due to a lack of training, but because my body's efforts to stave off a cold were insufficient -- a sign that I pushed myself beyond recovery the week leading up to the first-ever cross country state meet.

Has this ever happened to you?

For some odd reason after running a 16.33 5km three weeks prior and a 15.09 to get to state, I fooled myself into believing that I was on target to run 15.15 on Woodward Park's storied course, and, with that, likely earn a top-three placing on the podium. I truly wanted to compete with Dameworth and Goshu Tadese, but my sense of pace was slower than was theirs.

I mentioned that this lack of adaptability hampered me in track as well, and it surely did at all the wrong times.

I was invited to compete in the Arcadia Invitational 1.600m in April after having run a solo 4.20 at a meet in Northern California; I'd won by 12 seconds after running "pace" the entire way around (66-64-66-64). In fact, the fastest workout we'd done up to that point was 8x400m in 66!

A kid from Southern California kicked me long into the shadows of the evening when he stopped the clock just under four minutes 10 seconds after the gun sounded. I got boxed in, pushed and then pulled to 63-2.07 splits - 13 seconds faster than my pace workouts, and three seconds too fast for the open 400m workouts we had been doing before the meet. I finished with a new personal best - another 4.20, but had not fared well against the best in the state of California.

Two weeks later I set another personal best at 3.200m, running 73-69-69-73-73-73-69-69 for a 9.24,0 at UC Davis. The "pace" workout was just at the clip we'd been practicing on the track, 4x2.21 for 800m, but I was a miler, not a 2-miler. The personal best was good for the journal books, but wasn't going to do me a whole lot if I couldn't translate that into a faster mile.

My trainer wasn't into the long, hard workout schedule, nor was he a fan of much speedwork, either. His idea of getting turnover into my legs was to triple in most dual meets (1.600m/800m/4x400m), with the latter two races either run un-evenly or at a fast chase pace.

By the time the state final rolled around at the beginning of June, I had run 50 races that final season, and none of them faster than "pace". My qualifying round was run in 64-63-64-63, which was equal to the two 2.07 800m times I ran with 10 minutes rest in a workout the prior week.

The state final, as was Arcadia, was a gun-to-tape barn-burner which hurt my tired and untrained legs, as they attempted to run at 2.06 "pace" and negative split with the 2.01 effort the winner was able to negotiate the second half of the race.

Like the state cross country meet, I fell off the fast finishing pace and failed to medal in the state 1.600m final.

My trainer fulfilled one duty in keeping me hungrier for better things as I entered university, but I believe he fell short in providing me the tools necessary to actually compete at my best on a championship level - one which the university athletes were competing on in "B" races.

I believe the best of trainers have a focus on making an athlete competitive, keeping them focused on the fun which running and racing bring and taking them up to a moderated level on par workout-wise with the collegiate choices available to them.

My trainer had the best of intentions and was a fairly knowledgeable student of the sport. Unfortunately, he applied too much pressure on the break pedal and not enough on the gas.

The result was a career which saw me take 1.03 off my first mile time, but one in which I did not win one, single, solitary gold medal from league through the state meet my final three years - or six seasons.

High school was about having fun as well as developing mind and body, but the tendency is to feel as though one fell short of their goals if the point was simply just to make it to a state meet or two.

Photo Credit: Mike Sadler (Image on BBC)

Soboleva Earns My 2008 Female Indoor AOY Vote

Story written by Eric.

Last week-end's NCAA Championships officially closed the lid on the 2008 indoor season, and there were no shortage of great performances and record-setting marks accomplished around the globe by athletes on the elite level down to United States prep athletes who have yet to get much press or experience on the international stage.

Three women produced world records this season, and scores of other ones sprinted, jumped and leaned their ways to superlative marks which would have made headlines and captured votes on their own merits had the super elite failed to strike gold when it counted.

Yelena Soboleva, Susanna Kallur and Yelena Isinbayeva - names which reverberated from stadium to stadium this winter as they competed at their absolute bests this indoor campaign - each etched their names in the record annuals, and were each picked for gold in Valencia two week-ends ago when the entrants were declared.

Soboleva and Isinbayeva found favour and fortune on their side during the two-day event by coming up with victories.

Kallur, who led the world at 60m hurdles, had the untimely displeasure of becoming injured following her first-round heat and was never able to make it to the semi-finals, unfortunately, knocking her from the top of my personal AOY list despite her previously undefeated season and capturing three of the top-5 times ever recorded indoors in the event.

So that left the two Valencia teammates who share the same name, Yelena, up to take the honours.

Soboleva and Kallur started off the 2008 world-record chase by breaking all-time standards on 10-February, with Kallur, competing in Karlsruhe, knocking off a dubious hurdles record set 18 years and six days earlier by Ludmila Engquist - from whose dubious shadow she was attempting to run under.

Soboleva, on the other hand, knocked a few ticks off her own 1.500m world indoor record the same evening in Moscow.

The last of the record trio, Isinbayeva, competed six days later in Donetsk, Ukraine - a meeting site where she has earlier found vaulting nirvana, and set her third-consecutive world-record at the meet which vaulting legend Sergey Bubka had arranged.

The two athletes - tied at one world-record apiece - were even on paper, but one understands clearly that Isinbayeva, the superstar, having set her fourth world indoor record in as many years, was clearly ahead of her rival.

That was until Isinbayeva's next competition brought her back down to earth and behind Russian Svetlana Feofanova at Pedro's Cup in Bydgoszcz, Poland four days later, leaving Soboleva and Kallur undefeated prior to the world championships.

Soboleva, who finished the winter campaign with three personal bests, three national records and a world record to her credit, finished undefeated in five finals and contested one more meet than had Isinbayeva.

Soboleva earns my vote for Female Indoor Athlete of the Year for 2008 for twice bettering the previous 1.500m world indoor record (3.58,05 and 3.57,71); for netting the fourth-fastest mile ever recorded (4.20,21); and for demonstrating an incredible amount of resolve in taking two seconds from her previous 800m best at her national championships, running the fifth-fastest indoor time in history (1.56,49) - all without having run a step indoors last season.

Soboleva, a 25-year-old who competes for the Trade Unions club in Moscow, opened her 2008 compaign with a low-level 2.01,61 victory at the Moscow Challenge on 20-January.

Soboleva defeated Yekaterina Martynova, a 2.00,85 800m runner, by nearly two seconds in her first race since finishing four seconds down to Bahrain's Maryam Jamal in last September's World Athletics 1.500m final in Stuttgart.

The 800m time indicated Soboleva had decent fitness following an excellent outdoor campaign, and that she was on her way to perhaps a successful indoor campaign following a one-year hiatus from the winter season.

How much Soboleva would improve could never have been wildly guessed of one's life depended on it.

Soboleva, competing in her second indoor race in two years, contested the mile at the Russian Winter Games seven days later and demonstrated for both herself and her competitors that the world indoor 1.500m record-holder was at the top of the queue and may have genuinely had something incredible in store once the season picked up, clocking a national record time of 4.20,21.

Soboleva's achievement was history's fourth-fastest ever run, and the fastest since Romania's Doine Melinte set the current world indoor standard of 4.17,14 in February 1990.

Soboleva's outdoor best, 4.15,63, was set in Moscow in 2007.

Soboleva rested after her tiring mile and prepared to contest her national championships to again be held in Moscow 11 days later. She'd been entered in both the 800m and the 1.500m, and faced considerable competion in each event as single competitions, let alone coming in a double.

The 800m race was first.

Soboleva qualified first in her heat, running 1.59,56 - a time which wasn't completely taxing, but one which would take its toll on her by the time her 1.500m final was contested the following day. Waiting in the wings for an opportunity to strike at Soboleva's strength was Natalya Ignatova, who would run only 11/100 slower than Soboleva in the heats and qualify for the final.

Soboleva returned the following day to win the four-lap final with a very hard third 200m split, breaking apart from the field and powering home to a new personal best. Ignatova (1.58,84), Mariya Savinova (1.59,46) and Mariya Shapayeva (1.59,71) all set personal bests behind Soboleva, with the top-three each ending the season with the top marks in the world this year.

Being a world record-holder does not afford one an automatic gold medal - especially if one is contesting in the fiercely competitive Russian National Championships.

Soboleva would learn that lesson a few hours following her 800m victory, as 2006 World Indoor Champion and teammate Yuliya Fomenko attempted to run the legs off of Soboleva during the middle of the race.

Soboleva, who had considered dropping out of the 1.500m due to exhaustion, hung on in the race and drew from the well one final time to rush home and stop the clock in 3.58,05 - 0,23 faster than the world record she had set two years earlier.

Five of the nine women in the field set personal bests.

Soboleva travelled to Valencia rested and barely trained following a short, yet very intense, period of racing in February which had tired her.

The 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships 1.500m final generated the top-level excitement and energy fans had come to expect and anticipate, with Fomenko and Soboleva taking care of business up front and pushing each other up the 1.400m mark where Soboleva ultimately pulled away and ran away from her nearest three rivals in fast pursuit.

Soboleva's world record-setting performance (3.57,71) dragged Fomenko (3.59,41), Ethiopia's Gelete Burika (3.59,75) and Jamal (3.59,79) under the four-minute barrier, with all four women setting personal bests, and three of them new national bests in the process.

No woman in 2008 had the impact on the sport, the record books, their nation and their fellow competitors like Yelena Soboleva did. She inspired her comeptitors to run at their fullest capabilities, and she came out on the victorious end in the three races which counted most to her: her national championships and the world championships.

Yelena Soboleva just may take off 2009 as she did 2007 following a long season, but 2008 will leave memories far and deep to last several seasons over.

Croatia's Blanka Vlasic would have gotten a strong nudge at Soboleva's level had she been able to tie or break Kajsa Bergqvist's 2.08m world-record. She will receive an honourable mention, instead.

Yelena Soboleva's Personal Records:

• 800m indoors: 1.56,49 NR
  
• 800m outdoors: 1.57,28
• 1.500m indoors: 3.57,71 WR
  
• 1.500m outdoors: 3.56,43
• Mile indoors: 4.20,21 NR
  
• Mile outdoors: 4.15,63

Yelena Soboleva's 2008 Season:

• 2.01,61 Moscow Open Championships
• 4.20,21 Russian Winter
• 1.59,56 (Q) Russian National Championships
• 1.56,49 Russian National Championships
• 3.58,05 Russian National Championships
• 4.07,85 (Q) IAAF World Championships
• 3.57,71 IAAF World Championships
  

Carolina Klüft Gives Stamp of Disapproval

Story written by Eric.

Carolina Klüft has electrified souls with her positive energy and incredibly deep well of enthusiasm, and she has penetrated interest in a two-day event which few people around the globe really ever paid attention to prior to her reign at the top in all honesty.

She has taken laps of honour with a sorority of women who've crawled across the finish line one final time following the seven events which make up the heptathlon, and she has felt a oneness with them both in spirit and in exhaustion.

That electricity and buzz which the world has come to expect of "Carro" as we call her here in Sweden began to die down to infrequent pulses of energy following her third-consecutive IAAF World Outdoor last season, and Klüft, who is a staunch supporter of one taking the opportunity to follow their dreams, began to dream of how far she could leap through the air and land in a sand pit rather than how far she could fling a javelin or how fast she could run 800m.

She'd considered throwing in the towel after setting her personal best and establishing a new European record (7032 points) in Osaka, but to say that a woman who hasn't lost a heptathlon competition since 2001 is "throwing in the towel" is to speak falsely.

Carolina Klüft has simply lost motivation for contesting the heptathlon after winning everything there is to gain in this sport.

Olympic medal? She has one. Two would be great, and she'd be a near certainty to keep her unbeaten streak alive in Beijing had she decided to keep at it for one final hurrah.

But, she's opting for other events, and will watch from the side-lines and read results on the internet as her competitors stake claim to medal opportunities they may have once wished to get, but now smell as the months draw closer.

World outdoor titles? Carro won her first one in 2003, and followed up her senior barrage of honours collected with titles in 2005 and 2007.

World indoor championships? She has a global pentathlon title earned in 2003. As a matter of fact, Klüft has won two European indoor championships, two European outdoor ones and has taken home a European Cup title as well.

Carolina Klüft has flown around the world to contest events in front of crowds which grew exponentially as her fame and stature did, and she'd always had a sense of positive learning experiences to go with the utter exhaustion it takes to command victory against the best in the world time and time again.

She felt happy to be on the field and to line up on the track; she was having the time of her life, it looked like, and the 25-year-old seemed destined to spend several more years at the top if she simply wanted to.

Desire and motivation are two key words which had been associated with Klüft through the years following her 2001 European Junior title and her two World Junior records set in 2002 - one indoors, one outdoors.

Where there was an event to contest and a good time to have, Carro would show up and strike gold - not simply with the type of medal she would take home, but with her competitors whom she inspired, the fans whom she entertained and the journalists like me whom she always seemed to provide the most simple and basic words to sum up her characteristics for success, namely that she was out to "have fun".

Fun and games were great for a girl from Växjö who had the world at her fingertips, Reebok on her feet and a competitive schedule which only called for two to three major events per year.

Carolina Klüft is a married woman now and has moved home to a location outside of Karlskrona on the southern tip of Sweden with a beautiful archipelago. Part of her idea of fun has, naturally, become shopping for items which fit the decor in her home, and to be a good wife to a husband whose pole vaulting career was cut far short due to a persistant injury.

Klüft still supports kids in Africa through UNICEF, and she still finds time to be an ambassador to fighting hunger and poverty through a number of personal initiatives which she feels are very important in life.

In short, the reigning Olympic heptathlon champion has grown up in the four years since she travelled to Athens to tackle on fiercely competitive rivals in a four-year cycle where victory spells out large bonuses and lucrative contracts. She took on the world then, and can take them on now - though in a different set of events which she really enjoys "having fun": the long jump and the triple jump.

However sad this state of events could appear to fans who'd hoped Carro would give it one more go in the heptathlon, Klüft may find herself waiting at home this summer instead of mixing it up with rivals in different events.

The Swedish Olympic Committee stated today that Klüft must qualify for the Olympic Games and show top form within the next three months - a tall order for Klüft, but not an impossible one for a woman who has jumped 6,97m in the long jump and stated she's breached the 15.00m barrier in the triple jump in practice.

Klüft's official best at the hop-skip-and jump event is 14.02m, but it's best not to be fooled into thinking that a woman on a mission to show the world that changing events has not changed her desire to have fun and compete well will not succeed where she puts her mind, her focus and her willpower.

First things first, however.

"We're not taking back her pre-selection, but we need to see if we get the opportunity to confirm that in the end of June," says Peter Reinebo, Swedish Olympic Committee's sports boss.

"Just like everyone else, she must show that she is following her plan. In her case, it means that she needs to show results in a new event. That is our position, but we are counting on and hoping that she will make it."

Klüft stated during a press conference held in Växjö today that she is planning on getting a berth to Beijing, and would never have made a decision to give up the heptathlon had she not believed in her ability to fight among the leaders in the long jump pint.

"I would never have made this decision if I did't hope and believe that I would take myself to the Olympics," she stated.

"That is what I am pointing toward very hard."

"Now I am looking forward to something else and have rediscovered my motivation. It's risky, I know, but it just seems so right," she told Svenska Dagbladet.

Kelly Sotherton looks to be the beneficiary to this risky Klüft decision, as the oft bridesmade can finally step up and let the Olympics be hers and teammate Jessica Ennis' to shine. Tanya Lebedeva will inherit Klüft as a serious competitor of hers in the long jump - though not as a fierce rival, as Carro has never never been a top-3 placer on the world list in her career.

Carolina Klüft set a new personal, Swedish and European record in the heptathlon last summer, scoring higher (7032 points) in history than everyone except the legendary Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who has the standing world record of 7291 and has five marks better than Klüft's best.

Klüft hadn't set a personal record in the overall combined events for three-consecutive seasons dating back to her break-through performance in Paris St. Denis, when, in 2003, she scored 7001 points and won her first world championship title five months shy of her 20th birthday.

Some folks wondered during the three seasons leading up to Osaka if Klüft was tiring of winning an event devoid of any real contenders to dethrown her from any of her global crowns.

Klüft was still out there having fun, holding her competitors' hands and pulling them along for a collective victory lap after thrashing both mind and body against the same people - her friends, but she appeared to have hit a stalemate along her path to supremacy.

Her scores began to demonstrate that even untimely, freak injuries may prevent her from ever reaching the pinnacle of her career as a new world record-holder. She could still defeat all comers, even at less than her best, and questions arose about her motivation even before she revealed that she was left in want in that department.

Klüft put all of that to bed last summer when she took Japan by storm, setting a new personal best in the high jump during the heptathlon -- 1.95m -- and reversing a trend in which her season's best worsened each year from 2004-2006. She put her best foot forward and put up a number on the scoreboard which was better than anyone in the world not named Jackie Joyner-Kersee had ever been able to achieve.

Then came the bombshell, and finally the explosion.

Klüft, coming down from the high which surrounded this particular effort, never fully gained an appreciation for this victory. She felt like chasing and catching the record was "finally over", but didn't feel the inner gladness she usually did when hoisting her hands high, standing on the highest podium spot and listening to Du Gamla, Du Fria play across a stadium reverent in silence as the golden girl listened to words about wanting to live and die in the North.

Carolina Klüft's dreams have lived on in a fairy-tale world where no borders could keep her from reaching the potential she demonstrated as a junior. Her continued efforts in the sport may be spared a shot of athletics death as she puts her mind to her tasks and climbs up another ladder.

She was bullied as a child and called a geek. She won't be bullied by a selection process in place to separate Olympic hopefuls from their Olympic dreams.

Carolina Evelyn Klüft has stamped her approval on a new venture this season, and will reach as far as her willpower, drive and determination take her. Her enthusiasm and energy will continue to compliment her, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see her on the medal stand next to Irina Simagina and Naide Gomez in the long jump.

The Swedish Olympic Committe is counting on it, because last year at this time, they were counting on Carro to win an almost guaranteed one in Beijing. Carro's fans are expecting it. Swedish track and field is dependent on it, as the loss of Kajsa Bergqvist to retirement in December and Stefan Holm likely following in her footsteps at season's end being two very big holes to fill despite Emma Green and Linus Thörnblad taking their own turns at future stardom.

Most importantly, however, Carro is counting on making a positive impact in the summer months, and inspiring herself and her rivals to achieve great marks as they play in the sandbox.

Foto: Magnus Wennman

Planes, Trains and Too Much Time On the Hands

Story written by Eric.

I’m cruising high above the ocean – Amsterdam is supposed to be somewhere to my right, and there is nothing but a dark cloud of sky on the left of the plane. The sky seems to go on and on, as does this journey, and I’m only headed home from England.

Somewhere down below before the pilot jetted us into an atmosphere where the outside temperature is -45C outside my plastic window, I saw a few ants circling a track. Then I saw a few more.

It’s going to be nice to enter back into my normal time zone and back into a regular groove.

I’ve been gone exactly 36 hours, and it’s not like I’ve not done this before. In fact, I’ve now gone up and down 42 times over the past 16 months everywhere across Europe for work, for play, and even to catch a meet or three.

In fact, I’ve been doing this every year for the past five and counting, and haven’t found it to my liking yet to live out of my suitcase, pack down my gear and dine out or take-away.

This particular day reminds me of a conversation I had with a very good American 800m runner on a European flight quite a few years back, and got me thinking about how athletes spend days, nights, weeks and even months away from home slaving away at their sport from one venue to the next – travelling from one airport to another and, as it turns out, usually alone.

The most demanding part of travelling – to me – is standing in an airport queue waiting to be checked in, crawling through the security (despite a priority pass) and waiting the two hours between check-in and departure with nothing but time on my hands.

Imagine what it must be like for an athlete travelling thousands of kilometres from home to chase a qualifying mark or collect a bonus payment for putting their name and their spikes down on a track a meet organiser promises fans will bring plenty of action and an excellent performance.

The American runner said it wasn’t that bad.

“Not that bad” to me indicates that it is somewhat bad, but the female, who had broken 2.00 in the 800m run, didn’t want to sound like she was complaining. She had, for that matter, only met me – a stranger in an airplane who had recognised her from a magazine cover – a few minutes earlier at the front of the queue. And that was after I had bugged her whilst she was attempting to pass time by reading a book.

Stefan Holm reads a lot of books. He has a daily blog on his homepage where he tells his faithful readers along with anyone who happens to stumble across the site – scholm.com – what the flavour of the week is in exciting reading. Naturally he, like the lightening-quick 800m standout, has time – and much of it – to kill each and every day during the season.

So where were we again… yes, the top of the line waiting patiently for someone wearing a uniform to stop taking a break, log in to their computer, and give us the okay sign that all was good to go.

The 800m is a great race to watch, no? There are so many different tactics which can be employed during a two-lap race that it makes it very difficult at times to predict a winner before the first athlete crosses the finish line. This particular person had excellent 400m speed before she joined the middle distance fraternity and earned a partial cover spot with a woman who once thanked her dog for being an inspiration to her winning performance in a national championship. If you’re fast, you’re fast, I suppose, and certain things are easily overlooked.

An itinerary isn’t one of those things, however, which one can skip over and play things by ear. Three months away from home demands the most impressive attention to detail that one can imagine, as it’s not as easy as one may imagine phoning a sponsor and requesting training gear simply because you forgot them at home.

Moreover, making flight times after running an event, warming down, speaking in front of the press, peeing in a cup, getting a massage, taking a shower and grabbing a snack on the way to the airport can be challenging in its own right. Add to that the stress of having to have your bags randomly checked and your shoes run through an x-ray machine – two processes which demand even more time when you’re on your way somewhere and you’ve got the making of a small, stressful situation.

Jenny Adams would have been a good person to have interviewed had I taken the opportunity afforded me in June 2001 when she, after having won the U.S. Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, was about to make a mad dash straight to Europe.

I attended the 2001 meet whilst on holiday, and, had really gone there to see who this Alan Webb kid was (along with support one of my hurdler friends who eventually gave me a free press pass into the restricted, “athlete only” zones). Webb had run a 3.53 mile a month earlier, and had been all over the news.

Anyway, I’d put up a small fortune to make it there during a small tour and had missed my return flight to Chicago (and, eventually back to Paris) by 12 minutes, so I found myself hanging around the Eugene Airport watching stars come, and watching them go. Everyone had a destination, and some seemed less enthusiastic than did others as they made their way through the queues and to the check-in desk on the second level. That perhaps had something to do with who qualified to the IAAF World Championships and who didn’t – who knows.

I spent five hours in that small airport, and had all of my reporting done and all of my results neatly packed away during the first 45 minutes. What I didn’t have was any remaining patience to drag my feet another second, and it got old watching the same types of people – athletes – funnel through in single-file to places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Minneapolis.

I told my story to a middle-aged couple sitting on a bench downstairs, because they asked me whom I was visiting, and if I was there for the meet. We talked, I asked them the same obligatory questions, and, 20 minutes later, I was happy to have spent a good moment in time with the parents of Tim Montgomery.

Jenny Adams sat next to me on one of those raggedy, two engine planes which seated only 20 passengers or so as we headed to Portland... an up-and-down shot and just enough time to introduce myself. Adams was exhausted from all the week-end’s competition along with the stardom which came from placing well (winning the long jump and placing second in the 100m hurdles). I had no idea who she was – just that she was headed straight back to Texas, and, two days later, was headed to Europe to contest four races in seven days.

She’d have been interesting to speak with as she had to lace up and put in a whole lot of travel on short notice to get from Eugene to Houston and then on to Lausanne, Saint-Denis, Nice and Stockholm as well as eat, sleep, run and attempt to keep herself from losing her way as she travelled all alone in places both foreign and domestic.

I did get a chance to talk travels and athletics with the 800m runner, however, and she had grown tired of adjusting herself to different time zones twice a year (indoors and outdoors) and living out of a suitcase.

Back then, there wasn’t any internet and I haven’t the slightest recollection, truthfully, how she said she passed time; she mentioned writing a lot of letters and taking short walks through local parks to feel part of the communities she visited, but nothing more than so between her morning run and her afternoon workout.

I’m beginning to see the edge of my country approaching, which means that this short jaunt in the memory banks shall soon be over, and my inquisitive nature has to turn back to a more practical one like what I will eat when I finally do get back to Centrum – which is some 75 minutes by train from the airport.

I know where I’m going, how I’ll get there, and how long it will take me. I finally get to go home to the comfort of my own home, and I’ve only been gone for a day-and-a-half. Can’t imagine having to put in those four-day weeks on the roads hopping aboard and departing one plane after another in the pursuit of happiness – or business, as it is called.

I believe it a great test of resolve for young athletes to stay focussed as they journey away from their home countries and attempt to jump-start their careers in Europe. Some have the simple luxury of showing up where the trainer tells them, and simply following the lead.

At some point, however, that still takes a lot of faith to get through the tough days where ESPN doesn’t play on the hotel’s cable, and the internet service is only available for 30-minute windows in a hotel lobby for €2/hour… or if one runs out of magazines after having read virtually all of them on the long-haul flight from the United States to a destination near me somewhere here in the EU.

2008 NCAA Indoor Saturday Report: Collegiate Record for ASI's Johnson

Story written by Eric.

The two-day NCAA Championships held at the University of Arkansas' Randal Tyson Indoor Center concluded on Saturday with another collegiate record, several outstanding performances by athletes who were expected to star in front of their collegiate peers, and performances by others who stepped up and made names for themselves as they chased legends from the past - and those attempting to be legendary.

Related Links:

• 2008 Meet Photos
• 2008 Meet Photos II
• Day-1 Recap/Results
• First-Day Athlete Quotes
• Flotrack Interviews
• Live Scoreboard
• Meet Results
• Trackshark Live Blog
  

If the fireworks produced by the break-neck competitions on Friday weren't enough for track and field-crazed fans watching the live streaming broadcast, following the live blog Trackshark.com was feeding or reading the results on this site, Saturday would put an exclamation point on a very good week-end of eye-popping competition and a sense of personal despair for those expected to win, but didn't.

Friday's competition concluded with two new collegiate records along with a World Junior Record, with Arizona State's Ryan Whiting removing a 21-year-old shot put record from the books, and Bianca Knight obliterating the world junior, NCAA and her school record in the 200m in a race which saw the first three athletes across the line run faster than the previous world best at the distance.

Saturday's offering picked right up where the previous evening had left off, namely with a collegiate record, a near-record, certain athletes defending their coveted national titles and another heavy favourite coming up short in their specialty.

Arizona State's Jacquelin Johnson, trailing the University of Michigan's Bettie Wade by 17 points at the conclusion of the third event in the pentathlon - the shot put, had a huge upswing in the long jump and 800m, and concluded her single-day competition with a new NCAA Indoor record, scoring 4496 points to eclipse Austra Skujuté's six-year-old NCAA mark set in Manhattan, Kansas.

Johnson, the reigning indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon champion - and 2008 national leader heading into the championships at 4312 points, ran a very solid 800m race to remove Sjujuté, who competed at last week-end's IAAF World Indoor Championships, from the top of the indoor totem pole by 51 points.

Stanford's Erica McLain nearly toppled Sheila Hudson's American record in the triple jump, falling 3cm short of tying the mark the former CAL standout set 13 years ago, jumping 14.20m to win her event by 38cm over Kimberly Williams (Florida State).

Scott Sellers, who has shown incredible promise as a high jumpers since his grade-10 in high school, had not yet found the winning strategy or had the extra stroke of luck indoors during his first two seasons, finishing in ninth (2.19m) two years ago and third last season (2.22m).

Sellers would again come up empty-handed in Arkansas, taking silver on Saturday afternoon to Nebraska's Dusty Jonas, who cleared a lifetime best of 2.31m in improving his lifetime best by 5cm and, for the second-consecutive season, finishing one spot higher than Sellers.

Jonas' mark is also the highest any Cornhusker has ever jumped indoors or outdoors in school history.

Arkansas team captain Nkozinzu Balumbu, third in the NCAA indoor triple jump last season, and third on the 2008 list-leaders, came through with the biggest performance of his life, jumping 16.54m in the second flight to win his first NCAA indoor title.

Oklahoman Tydree Lewis led the first flight with a 16.52m effort - a mark which Balumbu beat on his first-round jump in the second flight and secured himself the victory.

Competing in Arkansas is about the middle distances as much as it is for the sprints on the fabled track, and Texan Leonel Manzano, previewed on this site two days ago, came up with his second-consecutive NCAA mile title on Saturday.

Manzano won a slow, yet highly tactical race against good kickers, in 4.04,45 to lead teammate Jake Morse (4.04,88) to a 1-2 finish and provide Texas 18 important points in the team competition, in which Texas finished with third - its highest ever indoors.

The Arizona State Sun Devils won the team competition for the first time indoors to compliment the women's team, which won their second-consecutive title. The sweep atop the school standings was the second in NCAA history following LSU's feat in 2003. LSU's women, who finished second to ASU in 2007, finished behind the Sun Devils again this season, 51-43.

LSU athletes swept the top-2 spots in the men's 60m dash, with senior Richard Thompson (6,51) holding off sophomore teammate and football star Trindon Holliday, second in 6,54. Clemson's Travis Padget, the 2007 champion (6,56), had to settle for bronze this time around, sprinting to a time of 6,60 seconds.

The stadium was buzzing with excitement as Thompson won his preliminary heat in 6,51 seconds, tying the world lead heading into the final.

Thompson wasn't the only LSU star on the podium on Saturday, however, as Kelly-Ann Baptiste won a virtual dead-heat with Texas' Alexandria Anderson, clocking 7,17 seconds to follow Thompson's victory and become part of the first duo in the history of the NCAA Indoor Championships to win 60m titles from the same university.

Both Thompson and Baptiste became first-time NCAA indoor champions in the process.

LSU added a third national champion to its merit list on Saturday when sophomore LaTavia Thompson pulled through for the Lady Tigers to win the women's 800m run, clocking 2.05,07. Cal's Alysia Johnson, the 2007 NCAA Indoor Champion, finished second (2.05,47).

The NCAA Indoor Championships is about celebrating victory as much as chasing the harmony between mind and body, and Florida State's Susan Kuijken broke through two barriers simultaneously in the 3.000m, winning her first national indoor title and stopping the clock under the nine-minute barrier (8.58,14).

Kuijken had earlier lost her two-week-old school mile record (4.36,31) to teammate Hannah England, who blasted a final lap segment of 29,99 to score victory over national-leader Nicole Edwards, 4.35,30 to 4.35,74. Tennessee's Sarah Bowman grabbed the bronze in the mile, running 4.36,00.

Liberty senior Josh McDougal was not as fortunate in his rebound attempt from a hard 5.000m contested on Friday evening, placing sixth in another tactical middle distance race - one which Arizona's Kyle Alcorn was able to steal from the milers in 8.00,82.

Montana State's Ellie Rudy had only one miss through four jumps leading up to 4.30m in the pole vault, and took her second-consecutive national indoor title, clearing the same height she won at in 2007. Arizona State's April Kubishta also cleared 4.30m, but won the silver on misses.

When one thinks of 4x400m racing, Baylor University often comes to mind - and for good measure. Baylor won its third-consecutive relay title on Saturday, with a quartet consisting of Trey Harts (47,1), Marcus Boyd (46,8), Justin Boyd (46,5) and LeJerald Betters (45,3) crossing the line in a fine 3.05,66.

Baylor did not have any athletes in the men's 400m dash, but that did not stop Oral Roberts' Andretti Bain from running the fastest time of the evening, 46,19, in the second section to claim national honours.

Krista Simkins (Miami) captured the women's 400m dash in 52,16.

=============================================

NCAA Indoor Championships
University of Arkansas
Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center
2008-March-15 - Saturday Results
(2007 Medal Winners in parenthesis)

=============================================

11.00 Men's Heptathlon Final

Gold: Gonzalo Barroilhet, Florida State, 5951; Silver: Josh Hustedt, Stanford, 5836; Bronze: Mike Morrison, Florida, 5792

Florida's Gonzalo Barroilhet entered Saturday's competition with a 42-point lead over Tennessee's Jangy Addy, compiling a first-day total of 3265 following an afternoon in which the 21-year-old Chilean senior national decathlon record-holder (7504 points) set personal records in three of the first four events contested.

Barroilhet was able to capitalise on a good night's rest and increase his margin over his competitors to 115 points by the time he finished the 1.000m run on Saturday afternoon, finishing with 5951 points to secure the NCAA title in his first season at the collegiate level.

None of the national leaders heading into the competition were able to medal in the event, as Addy, third on the national list heading into the competition -- and second after the first day's competition, finished in fourth.

NCAA Record: 6208 (A), Trey Hardee, Texas, 2005)

2008 Leaders: 1. Cepeda, UNI, 5906; 2. Eaton, Oregon, 5859; 3. Jangy Addy, Tennessee, 5836

(2007 Gold: Donovan Martin, Texas, 5998; Silver: Jake Arnold, Arizona, 5909; Bronze: Raven Cepeda, Northern Iowa, 5864)

=============================================

11.30 Women's Pentathlon Final

Gold: Jacquelin Johnson, Arizona State, 4496 (CR); Silver: Bettie Wade, Michigan, 4366; Bronze: Shevell Quinley, Arizona, 4256

Jacquelin Johnson won her sixth career NCAA title by picking up her third-consecutive pentathlon victory at the NCAA Indoor Championships - the first time a female has won thre straight pentathlon titles as well as just the ninth time in NCAA history a female athlete has won the same event in her career.

"I was confident going in. I had a little bit of déjà vu, because last year I had to win by three seconds or more in the 800-meter," she stated.

"I knew I could do it; it was just a matter of actually going out there and accomplishing it. I wasn't really thinking of winning for the third year in a row, I was more focused on beating the record (meet and collegiate)."

(Old NCAA record: 4425, Austra Skujyté, Kansas State, 2002)

2008 Leaders: 1. Johnson, Arizona St., 4312; 2. Roehrig, Minnesota, 4218; 3. Quinley, Arizona, 4125

(2007 Gold: Jacquelyn Johnson, Arizona State, 4393; Silver: Diana Pickler, Washington State, 4339; Bronze: Melissa Talbort, Wisconsin, 4225)

=============================================

16.00 Men's 35-lb. Weight-throw Pre / Final

Gold: Egor Agafonov, Kansas, 22.71m; Silver: Jake Dunkleberger, Auburn, 22,24m; Bronze: Walter Henning, North Carolina, 22,02m.

Kansas State's Egor Agofanov, the 2008 national leader (22,67m), defended his national title in the 35-pound weight throw, heaving the implement 22.71m to hold Jake Dunkleberger at bay.

Agofanov, the NCAA 2007 Outdoor fourth-place finisher in the hammer throw, concludes his Jayhawk indoor career with two national titles and a runner-up placing (2006).

(NCAA Record: 25.08m, Kibwe Johnson, Ashland, 2007)

2008 Leaders: 1. Agafonov, Kansas, 22.67m; 2. Rohr, Missouri, 22.42m; 3. Shanklin, Wyoming, 21.90m

(2007 Gold: Egor Agafonov, Kansas, 23.60m; Silver: Cory Martin, Auburn, 23.27m; Bronze: Nick Owens, North Carolina, 21.71m)

=============================================

16.30 Women's Shot Put Pre / Final

Gold: Mariam Kevkhishvili, Florida, 17.83m; Silver: Sarah Stevens, Arizona State, 17.64m; Bronze: Patience Knight, Texas Tech, 17.27m

Florida sophomore Kevkhishvili, second on the NCAA performance chart at 17.44m, unleashed a terrific second-round throw of 17.83m - a Florida school record - to take a lead she would not relinquish on the evening.

Stevens, the 2007 indoor champion, was unable to get in a throw of merit, fouling on four-straight attempts before landing the shot 17.64m on her sixth - and final - throw of the evening.

Knight threw 17.27m on both her fourth- and fifth-round efforts to secure the bronze medal.

Tennessee's Annie Alexander, third on the national list (17.42m), failed to make the final. “Mariam deserves everything that she got today,” Florida throws coach Steve Lemke said on the Florida Gators website.

“She’d been throwing great in practice all week and we felt like she was bound for great things today. She beat a really good field and did something that no one at Florida had ever done, so this was a special moment for Mariam.”

(NCAA Record: 19.15m, Laura Gerraughty, North Carolina, 2004)

2008 Leaders: 1. Stevens, Arizona St., 17.78m; 2. Kevkhishvili, Florida, 17.44m; 3. Alexander, Tennessee, 17.42m

(2007 Gold: Sarah Stevens, 18.16m; Silver: Michelle Carter, Texas, 18.12m; Bronze: Abigail Ruston, Texas State, 16.61m)

=============================================

16.45 Men's High Jump Final

Gold: Dusty Jonas, Nebraska, 2.31m; Silver: Scott Sellers, Kansas State, 2.25m; Bronze: Ehi Oamen, Northern Iowa, 2.19m

Much of the talk during these championships was, "How high will Scott Sellers jump?" Sellers had improved on the year to a lifetime indoor best 2.29m, and was the 2007 NCAA Outdoor champion in this event.

What many folks were not counting on was Jonas improving his lifetime best by 6cm and finding the form of his career in clearing 2.09m, 2.14m, 2.19m, 2.22m, 2.25m and 2.28m on his first attempts - a series Sellers was able to match up to a first-attempt miss at 2.22m followed by an easy clearance at 2.25m.

"Truthfully it really hasn't sunk in yet that I am a national champion," quotes Nebraska's team webpage.

"Right now it just feels like I've set a new PR at any regular meet. Coming in, I knew I had a chance and both Coach Pepin (Gary Pepin) and Nic (volunteer coach Nic Petersen) said they knew I had what it was going to take today to win.

"The strange thing is I think I am happier that I cleared 7-7. Hopefully over the next few days it will set in that I'm a national champion."

(NCAA Record: 2.37m, Hollis Conway, Louisiana-Lafayette, 1989)

2008 Leaders: 1. Sellers, Kansas State, 2.29m; 2. Jonas, Nebraska, 2.26m; 3. Diggs, Houston, 2.22m; Wright, California, 2.22m

(2007 Gold: Donald Thomas, Auburn, 2.33m; Silver: Dusty Jones, Nebraska, 2.25m; Bronze: Scott Sellers, 2.22m)

=============================================

17.00 Women's Pole Vault Final

Gold: Ellie Rudy, Montana State, 4.30m; Silver: April Kubishta, Arizona State, 4.30m; Bronze: Kate Sultanova, Kansas, 4.25m

Montana State's Ellie Rudy had only one miss through four jumps leading up to 4.30m in the pole vault, and took her second-consecutive national indoor title, clearing the same height she won at in 2007.

Arizona State's April Kubishta also cleared 4.30m, but won the silver on misses.Rudy followed nearly the same path as her 2007 mark, clearing the same height as the runner-up, but she was able to save herself from jump-offs when Kubishta missed once at 4.10m.

Rudy's accomplishment is only the second individual national championship Montana State University has collected in indoor track following her 2007 title.

“I’m a little tired and have a cold, but I feel great,” Rudy said on the Montana State athletics site.

“I am so excited that I won clean this time—no jump-off. I wanted to win by clearing a higher mark, but I’m happy with a clean win. I’m glad we didn’t have a jump off because my wrists were starting to hurt,” Rudy added.

(NCAA Record: 4.53m, Amy Linnen, Arizona, 2002)

2008 Leaders: 1. Rudy, Montana St., 4.30m; 2. Sultanova, Kansas, 4.30m; 3. Kubishta, Arizona St., 4.30m

(2007 Gold: Elouise Rudy, Montana State, 4.30m; Silver: Natalie Moser, Florida, 4.30m; Bronze: Kate Sultanova, Kansas, 4.30m)

=============================================

17.30 Men's Triple Jump Pre / Final

Gold: Nkosinza Balumbu, Arkansas, 16.54m; Silver: Tydree Lewis, Oklahoma, 16.52m; Bronze: Jonathan Jackson, Texas Christian, 16.32m

Host Arkansas, struggling in the distance races, got a huge reprieve when team captain Nkosinza Balumbu, third on the national list, came through with a victorious jump of 16.54m to open up the second flight.

Oklahoma's Tydree Lewis was the class of the first round, taking the lead on his first attempt and extending it to a very impressive 16.52m on his final attempt, leaving Balumbu with an exact expectation of how his evening was to play out - and which mark would be relevant to surpass to win his first national title and give Arkansas needful points in the team race.

Balumba, who became the Razorback's 15th NCAA Indoor triple jump champion, was fortunate to get his winning mark and personal best out of the way early, as the rest of his series did not produce a jump which would have placed him in the top-two medal spots.

Balumba's series: 16.54m, 16.30m, 16.09m, 16.02m, Foul, Foul.

“It feels great to win my first national title,” Balumbu said on the Arkansas Razorback website.

“I feel like the Lion King right now. I feel like Simba going up and taking over Pride Rock and looking down at his territory. I feel like I just put my stamp on the triple jump right now and I don’t want to look back. I want to keep it going and win Nationals from now on until I graduate.”

(NCAA Record: 17.50m, Charles Simpkins, Baptist University, 1986)

2008 Leaders: 1. Boutte, Oklahoma, 16.48m; 2. Grinnell, Boise State, 16.40m; 3. Balumbu, Arkansas, 16.30m

(2007 Gold: Andre Black, 16.29m; Silver: Muhammad Halim, Cornell, 16.24m; Bronze: Nkosinza Balumbu, Arkansas, 16.19m)

=============================================

18.15 Men's Mile Run Final

Gold: Leonel Manzano, Texas, 4.04,45; Silver: Jake Morse, Texas, 4.04,88; Bronze: Andrew Acosta, Oregon, 4.04,90

Oregon's Andrew Acosta, who broke legendary Steve Prefontaine's school record last week in Washington with a national-leading 3.58,52, took the early lead in Saturday's race, splitting 31,83 and 31,14 (1.02,97) the first two laps of the eight-lap race.

Manzano took over the lead on the third lap (31,13/1.34,18), and brought the tightly-bunched field of 11 - separated by 0,66 seconds - through the fourth lap in 2.05,58.

Manzano continued biding his time through the 1.000m mark - reached in 2.36,67, with Acosta (2.36,72) and Nebraska's Peter van der Westhuizen (2.36,88) closest.

Manzano held his lead up through the final lap, which he covered in 27,00, stopping the clock at 4.04,45. Teammate Morse was second in 4.04,88, with Acosta improving to third (4.04,90).

Stanford's Garrett Heath nearly kept the same finishing round as did Manzano, running the final circuit in 27,04 seconds, but it was not enough to propel him to the victory stand despite entering the race with the second-fastest time in the nation (3.58,71).

(NCAA Record: 3.55,0h, Tony Waldorp, North Carolina, 1974)

2008 Leaders: 1. Bumbalough, Georgetown, 3.58,46; 2. Acosta, Oregon, 3.58,52; 3. Heath, Stanford, 3.58,71

(2007 Gold: Leonel Manzano, Texas, 3.59,90; Silver: Russell Brown, Stanford, 4.00,84; Bronze: Stephen Pifer, Colorado, 4.00,93)

=============================================

18.25 Women's Mile Run Final

Gold: Hannah England, Florida State, 4.35,30; Silver: Nicole Edwards, Michigan, 4.35,74; Bronze: Sarah Bowman, Tennessee, 4.36,00

Florida State sophomore Hannah England won a three-woman race to the finish line Saturday, topping national leader Nicole Edwards and Tennessee's Sarah Bowman, who anchored her Distance Medley team to victory on Friday with a 4.35,3.

England's winning time of 4.35,30 moved her from fifth to second on the leader board, and, most importantly, gave the Seminole the first NCAA title of her young collegiate career.

Wisconsin's Ann Detmer held the early lead, towing the field through modest 35,20 and 33,81 (1.09,01) segments, with Bowman (1.09,29) leading Edwards (1.09,53) and England (1.09,76) as the three kept an eye on each other in the early stage of the race.

Detmer kept things in check through the 800m mark, leading the field through at 2.19,16 - a mark not incredibly fast, but one which would force the kickers behind her to begin planning their moves with four laps remaining as the order behind her with Bowman, Edwards and England hadn't changed at this stage in the race.

Detmer was able to maintain her pacing chores through the 1.000m mark in the race until Bowman pulled even with her and passed her on the following lap segment, taking her first lead of the evening and leaving her exposed to Edwards and England, who were watching her moves from behind.

England, the fifth-place finisher in the 1.500m at the 2007 U-23 competition, pounced on the opportunity to kick past her rivals on the final lap, covering the split in 29,99 seconds to best the kicks of Edwards (30,67) and Bowman (31,15), and won in a lifetime best of 4.35,30

(NCAA Record: 4.28,31, Vicky Huber, Villanova, 1988)

2008 Leaders: 1. Edwards, Michigan, 4.33,23; 2. Kipyego, Texas Tech, 4.36,31; 3. Kuijken, Fla St., 4.36,31

(2007 Gold: Shannon Rowbury, Duke, 4.42,17; Silver: Allie Bohannon, UCLA, 4.43,36; Bronze: Nicole Edwards, Michigan, 4.44,89)

=============================================

18.30 Women's Triple Jump Pre / Final

Gold: Erica McLain, Stanford, 14.20m; Silver: Kimberly Williams, Florida State, 13.82m; Bronze: Karoline Koehler, San Diego State, 13.62m

Stanford senior Erica McLain, the reigning NCAA indoor champion (13.91m) defended her crown in fine style, winning with a leap of 14.20m - a mark only 3cm short of Sheila Hudson's American record, and 5cm short of the 11-year-old collegiate record set by LSU's Suzette Lee in 1997.

Kimberly Williams improved on her seasonal best by 10cm to finish second with a jump of 13.82m. Karoline Koehler, who had the 13th-best mark in the nation heading into the week-end, finished with the bronze medal, leaping 13.62m.

McLain had only two good jumps on the afternoon, setting the pace with her 14.20m first-round jump, and following it up with a 13.89m fourth-round attempt.

(NCAA Record: 14.25m, Suzette Lee, LSU, 1997)

2008 Leaders: 1. Williams, Fla St., 13.72m; 2. McLain, Stanford, 13.71m; 3. Okagbare, UTEP, 13.64m

(2007 Gold: Erica McLain, Stanford, 13.91m; Silver: Yvette Lewis, Hampton, 13.61m; Bronze: Michelle Vaughn, Auburn, 13.21m)

=============================================

18.35 Men's 800-meter Run Final

Gold: Tyler Mulder, Northern Iowa, 1.49,20; Silver: Elkana Kosgei, LSU, 1.49,47; Bronze: Ross Ridgewell, Georgia, 1.49,52

With Texas Longhorn Jacob Hernandez disqualified the previous evening for a lane violation, Oral Roberts' Shaun Smith appeared to be the favourite on paper, having run 1.47,28 this season.

Smith was unable to capitalise on the sluggish 53,11 opening 400m Miami's Tim Harris brought the field through, and never appeard in the race when the kicking began with one lap remaining (600m covered in 1.21,28 by LSU's Rueben Twijukye).

Georgia's Ross Widgewell had the best finishing last lap, running 27,47, a mark which was good enough to propel the Bulldog into the bronze medal spot.

Northern Iowa's Tyler Mulder, the sixth-fastest 800m runner heading into the championships (1.48,17), won in 1.49,20, with Elkana Kosgei - LSU's second 800m entrant in the final - taking the silver medal (1.49,47).

Mulder became the third Northern Iowa athlete to win a national indoor title in school history.

"That was an extremely smart race that Tyler ran to win the 800," UNI head coach Chris Bucknam said.

"He had a lot left at the end, and he couldn't have run it better. That's a racer's race, because it's fast, it's tight and you're really fighting it out in a big group. For him to run as well and as smart as he did, it truly exemplifies the great season he's had."

(NCAA Record: 1.44,84, Paul Ereng, Virginia, 1989)

2008 Leaders: 1. Koech, UTEP, 1.46,77; 2. Smith, Oral Roberts, 1.47,28; 3. Mach, C. Michigan, 1.47,33

(2007 Gold: Ryan Brown, Washington, 1.48,40; Silver: Andrew Ellerton, Michigan, 1.48,55; Bronze: Kyle Smith, Northern Iowa, 1.49,09)

=============================================

18.45 Women's 800-meter Run Final

Gold: LaTavia Thomas, LSU, 2.05,07; Silver: Heather Dorniden, Minnesota, 2.05,45; Bronze: Alysia Johnson, CAL, 2.05,47

LSU's LaTavia Thomas made the women's 800m a personal 1-2 race between defending champion Alysia Johnson of CAL, and herself, sitting in third the first two laps of the race with Johnson in clear view as the race unfolded with Johnson splitting 29,19 and 1.01,52 at the 200m and 400m markers, respectively.

Pennsylvania's Jesse Carlin propelled herself to the front position on the next lap, clocking 33,27 for her segment and towing the field through 600m in 1.33,94.

Johnson ran second in 1.34,08, with Thomas a click back in 1.34,23.Thomas surged incredibly well on the final lap, sprinting off the curve to stop the clock at 2.05,07 following a 30,85 closing lap.

Minnesota's Heather Dorniden, fifth on the yearly indoor lists at 2.05,05, won the silver in 2.05,45 after a solid closing lap in 30,97, which was just off of the pace Thomas set the final time around the track.

Johnson had to settle for third, running 2.05,47 after getting nabbed at the line by Dorniden.

“I thought LaTavia really had a breakout performance at this meet,” Dennis Shaver said.

“She’s a tremendous competitor, and I thought she ran a very smart race today. It’s not about how fast you run but who crosses the finish line first at the championship meets, and she understood that. She got out and ran a great race to beat some really talented half-milers and the defending champion.”

(NCAA Record: 2.00,75, Nicole Cook, Tennessee, 2005)

2008 Leaders: 1. Gall, Michigan, 2.03,37; 2. Johnson, California, 2.03,39; 3. Thomas, LSU, 2.04,66

(2007 Gold: Alysia Johnson, California, 2.03,47; Silver: Rebekah Noble, Oregon, 2.04,70; Bronze: Heather Dorniden, Minnesota, 2.04,87)

=============================================

18.55 Men's 400-meter Dash Final

Gold: Andretti Bain, Oral Roberts, 46,19; Silver: Jordan Boase, Washington, 46,34; Bronze: Calvin Smith, Florida, 46,44

Calvin Smith (Florida) may have cost himself the NCAA title after opening the race in 21,49 seconds - a time which is only a half-second from his indoor best at 200m (20,98), but the sophomore gave his best effort in helping drag along eventual winner Andretti Bain (46,19) and silver medallist Jordan Boase (46,34).

Bain's winning mark was his third-fastest of the season, trailing only the school record of 46,02 he set in the preliminary round, and the 46,13 he posted on 16-February.

Bain's victory made him ORU's first-ever NCAA indoor champion.

Smith finished with a time of 46,44 after completing his second lap in 24,96 seconds. Smith's lifetime best of 46,05 was set at last year's SEC Indoor Championships.

(NCAA Record: 44,57, Kerron Clement, Florida, 2005)

2008 Leaders: 1. Gaymon, Georgia, 45,94; 2. Smith, Florida, 46,04; 3. Bain, Oral Roberts, 46,13

(2007 Gold: Ricardo Chambers, Florida State, 45,65; Silver: Aaron Buzard, Minnesota, 45,86; Bronze: Quentin Summers, Baylor, 46,07)

=============================================

19.05 Women's 400-meter Dash Final

Gold: Krista Simkins, Miami, 52,16; Silver: Trish Bartholomew, Alabama, 52,37; Bronze: Jessica Beard, Texas A&M, 52,48

Krista Simkins' NCAA weekend ended in a flash, as the junior from Miami University followed up her school record (51,95) run set in the semi-final run with her first NCAA title.

Alabama's Trish Bartholomew attempted to break for the pole first with a lap to go, but was 0,01 seconds down on Simkins as the pair enterd the backstretch.

Simkins closed out her second lap in 27,80, with Texas A&M freshman Jessica Beard - making her first NCAA appearance, closing out fastest in 27,71 to finish with the bronze and a new personal record.

Penn State's Shana Cox won the first flight in 52,57, a time which was good enough for fourth overall.

(NCAA Record: 50,80, Natasha Hastings, South Carolina, 2007)

2008 Leaders: 1. Bartholomew, Alabama, 52,10; 2. Cross, S. Carolina, 52,12; 3. Martin, Kentucky, 52,32

(2007 Gold: Natasha Hastings, South Carolina, 50,80; Kineke Alexander, Iowa, 51,48; Bronze: Ashlee Kidd, Georgia Tech, 51,96)

=============================================

19.15 Men's 60-meter Dash Final

Gold: Richard Thompson, LSU, 6,51; Silver: Trendon Holliday, LSU, 6,54; Bronze: Travis Padget, Clemson, 6,60

LSU's Richard Thompson and Trendon Holliday had two of the three fastest times in the nation this year entering the meet, and showcased their superior speed in the final, with Thompson, a senior, blasting from 0-to-60m in 6,51 seconds to equal IAAF World Indoor Champion Olusoji Fasuba of Nigeria as the fastest in the world this year.

“That was an awesome display of sprinting by our kids in the 60,” Shaver said to LSU Sports.

“I knew in the warm-up area that Richard and Trindon were going to go 1-2 in the final. They showed up ready to compete and got the job done. I thought they handled the pressure of being the favorites very well and showed just what kind of competitors they are by going 1-2."

Thompson, who competed for his native Trinidad at the 2007 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in the 100m, broke his own school record of 6,57 in the semi-finals and tied the new record in the final.

(NCAA Record: 6,45, Leonard Myles-Mills, BYU, 1999)

2008 Leaders: 1. Thompson, LSU, 6,57; 2. Spiller, Clemson, 6,58; 3. Holliday, LSU, 6,60

(2007 Gold: Travis Padgett, Clemson, 6,56; Silver: Demi Omole, Wisconsin, 6,57; Bronze: Jacoby Ford, Clemson, 6,60)

=============================================

19.25 Women's 60-meter Dash Final

Gold: Kelly-Ann Baptiste, LSU, 7.17; Silver: Alexandria Anderson, Texas, 7,17; Bronze: Bianca Knight, Texas, 7,21

Kelly-Ann Baptiste's victory, which came approximately 10 minutes after Thompson's feat, marked the first time in NCAA history that athletes from the same school had won both the men's and women's 60m dashes.
Baptiste, the 2008 leader (7,13) entering the finals, fought valiantly to secure the victory against Anderson and world junior record-holder and 200m titlist, Bianca Knight.

Baptiste - who had an injury-riddled 2007 outdoor season, and Anderson were separated by a mere 0,006 at the finish tape, with Knight running a superb 7,21 to sneak past Anderson's previous best this season, and, as Anderson, claim her second sprint medal this week-end.

"I’m also very proud of Kelly Ann (Baptiste) for what she did," Shaver also stated to LSU Sports."She’s won a lot of All-America honors and scored a lot of points for us in the past, but this is the first time she’s ever won an individual title at the NCAA meet. She stepped it up big for us in her last appearance at this meet.”

(NCAA Record: 7,09, Angela Williams, USC, 2001)

2008 Leaders: 1. Baptiste, LSU, 7,13; 2. Henry, LSU, 7,18; 3. Anderson, Texas, 7,22; 3. Anderson, Kansas, 7,22; 3. Asumnu, Tulane, 7,22

(2007 Gold: Kerron Sterart, Auburn, 7,15; Silver: Courtney Champion, Tennessee, 7,19; Bronze: Kelly-Ann Baptiste, LSU, 7,27)

=============================================

19.35 Men's 3,000-meter Run Final

Gold: Kyle Alcorn, Arizona State, 8.00,82; Silver: Andrew Bumbalough, Georgetown, 8.02,22; Bronze: Kyle Perry, BYU, 8.02,63

Alcorn loves to kick down his opponents - he has been doing it ever since high school when he won the CIF California State 3.200m title his junior year whilst a student at Buchanan (Clovis) High School six years ago.

The University of Oregon transfer has been playing in a different league at the NCAA level, however, and had not found any success indoors in his two previous years under the lights and on the short tracks.

A move to Arizona State University and a new perspective have changed Alcorn's fortunes considerably, with the redshirt senior capturing his first-ever NCAA title of any kind - indoors or outdoors - with a very fine 2.26,39 closing 1.000m split to fend off challenges from Andrew Bumbalough (8.02,22) and stave off the rest of the competition - including Villanova's Robert Curtis (fourth in 8.02,79) and Liberty University's Josh McDougal (sixth in 8.03,77).

Alcorn, who has improved his mile time to 3.59,82, has added speed to his CV, and has adapted that to drawing out fields with his kick.
"It was a great race with a quick tempo. I made a move early to get to the front because I wanted to control the pace," Alcorn said.

"I like to be able and rely on my kick and that was what got me the victory today. I didn't find out until after the race that my victory was going to give us a tie for the lead so that is a great feeling."

Alcorn's chances at gold looked very slim at the outset of the race, as the 8.35 steepler held only the 14th fastest time of the 16 competitors in the field - though seven athletes were seeded between 7.55,41 and 7.56,03.Alcorn opened the race with a split of 2.45,08 the first 1.000m and followed it up with a 2.49,36 as the pace settled and the race horses began calculating how much energy to expend on their kicks.

Alcorn wasted no time with the field with two laps remaining - 400m, and began his acceleration phase home to the last lap, where he opened up a gap on Bumbalough, the yearly mile leader at 3.58,46.

(NCAA Record: 7.38,59, Alistair Cragg, Arkansas, 2004)

2008 Leaders: 1. Curtis, Villanova, 7.50,17; 2. McNeill, N. Arizona, 7.50,37; 3. Perry, BYU, 7.51,20

(2007 Gold: Lopez Lemong, Northern Arizona, 7.49,74; Silver: Chris Solinsky, Wisconsin, 7.51,69; Bronze: Josh McDougal, Liberty, 7.55,40)

=============================================

19.50 Women's 3,000-meter Run Final

Gold: Susan Kuijken, Florida State, 8.58,14; Silver: Brie Felnagle, North Carolina, 9.00,31; Bronze: Arianna Lambie, Stanford, 9.05,41

Stanford's Arianna Lambie, a redshirt senior, lined up for the 3.000m final after giving a gutsy performance - and the race's fastest 1.600m split - in the Distance Medly on Friday.

Lambie, a 9.00,60 runner, was aiming to win her first national indoor title after placing third the previous two seasons.

Lambie's chances increased exponentially when Sally Kipyego withdrew from the event, but Florida State's Susan Kuijken, who had run a 4.36,31 mile two weeks ago to go along with her season's best 9.08,75 at the 3.000m, had other plans for the Cardinal.

Lambie assumed the early lead in the race, and made the pace hurt for those unable to keep on course with a 9-flat finish, hitting the 1.000m marker in a brisk - yet managable 2.58,65. Kuijken followed suit with a 2.58,89, with North Carolina's Brie Felnagle (2.59,15) also holding on to the lead group.

Lambie continued easily through the 2nd kilometre, covered at a very respectable 5.59,22, with Kuijken and Felnagle right on her heels and completely separate from the second pack.

"When Sally (Kipyego) scratched I knew (Arianna) Lambie would take it out and I'd have to watch for Brie Felnagle," Kuijken said.

"In the end when the three of us were left I knew I could beat Lambie because I had the kick but I knew I had to give it my all and try to lose Felnagle. When I came around to the last turn I looked at the screen and saw she was fading and that was it.

"It feels great. I always thought that indoors wasn't necessarily as important as outdoors, but a national championship is a national championship. It feels great to win."

Kuijken used a superb kick to notch a sub-3.00 final segment, splitting 2.58,68 to bring home her first national title and lower her personal best - and school record - by roughly 10 seconds.

Felnagle, who dropped nine seconds from her yearly best, finished two seconds back of Kuijken's kick, running 9.00,31 (3.00,65 closing mark), with Lambie, contesting her final NCAA Indoor championships, once again finishing third (9.05,41).

(NCAA Record: 8.49,18, Kim Smith, Providence, 2004)

2008 Leaders: 1. Lambie, Stanford, 9.05,32; 2. Blood, Oregon, 9.08,44; 3. Kuijken, Fla St., 9.08,75

(2007 Gold: Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech, 9.02,05; Silver: Shannon Rowbury, Duke, 9.02,73; Bronze: Arianna Lambie, Stanford, 9.04,81)

=============================================

20.05 Men's 1,600-meter Relay Final

Gold: Baylor, 3.05,66; Silver: Texas Christian, 3.06,19; Bronze: Arizona State, 3.06,34

(NCAA Record: 3.03,51, Florida (Clark, Middleton, Pastor, Clement), 2005)

2008 Leaders: 1. Florida (Anderson, Phillips, Middleton, Smith), 3.06,48; 2. Arizona State (Gordon, Elston, Kremer, Phillip) 3.06,58; 3. Texas A&M (Oliver, Dykes, Robinson, Robinson), 3.06,68

(2007 Gold: Baylor (Witherspoon, Betters, Mutai, Summers), 3.04,24; Silver: Kentucky (Harrison, Browning, Acevedo, Luna), 3.06,34; Bronze: South Carolina (Hinnant, Hilliard, Miley, Moore), 3.06,93)

=============================================

20.20 Women's 1,600-meter Relay Final

Gold: LSU, 3.31,14; Silver: Texas A&M 3.31,34; Bronze: Arizona State, 3.33.63

(NCAA Record: 3.27,66, Texas (Downer, McIntosh, Robinson, Richards), 2003

2008 Leaders: 1. LSU (Morris, Wilson, Thomas, Lawrence), 3.31,89; 2. South Carolina, (Cantey, Giles, Cross, Byrd), 3.33,34; 3. Texas A&M (Wooten, Williams, Facey, Beard) 3.34,61

(2007 Gold: South Carolina (Smith, Cantey, Cross, Hastings), 3.29,57; Silver: Texas A&M (Henry, Williams, Wooten, Baker), 3.29,93; LSU (Morris, Wilson, Rooks, Lawrence), 3.30,26)