Feb. 11, 2006
Tyson Results
Iowa State Results
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark./AMES, Iowa - The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams completed their final preparations for the SEC Indoor Championships with some strong marks Saturday at both the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa. The Tigers saw another school record fall in the women's 4x400m relay, and Kerron Stewart had the third-fastest time in the world this year in the 200m to highlight the day's events.
"We had lots of personal bests today, which is what we're looking for," said head coach Ralph Spry. "Everybody ran well. When you look at the group as a whole this weekend, we had lots of qualifiers. And with a week off for training to prepare for the SECs, I think we'll have a good showing."
At the Tyson Invitational, Stewart posted the second-best indoor time in the 200m in school history, finishing second in 22.97 seconds. Stewart's automatic qualifying time fell just short of the Auburn record of 22.91 set by Fana Ashby last year. Stewart finished just behind South Carolina's Shalonda Soloman, who won the event with a time of 22.89, and their two times rank second and third in the world. Yuliya Gushchina of Russia had the two fastest times in the world prior to this weekend with marks of 22.82 and 23.01.
Stewart then helped Auburn set a school indoor record in the 4x400m relay, running the second leg as the Tigers finished second in the race to LSU with a time of 3:31.66. Stewart was joined by Josanne Lucas, Tamara Thomas and Markita James as the group beat the previous school mark of 3:33.37 set last year. The marks set by Auburn and LSU were the two fastest in the NCAA this year.
Michelle Williamson won the high jump for Auburn with a leap of 1.74m (5-8.5). Raevan Harris tied for third with a mark of 1.69m (5-6.5) while Danielle Threat had a season-best 1.64m (5-4.5), tying for 15th.
In the women's triple jump, Michelle Williamson placed third with a jump of 12.91m (42-4.25), while Jovanee Jarrett was sixth with a mark of 12.54m (41-1.75). However, neither improved on their previous provisional qualifying marks.
In the men's weight throw, Cory Martin and Jacob Dunkleberger finished second and third, respectively. Martin posted a mark of 21.53m (70-7.75), falling just short of his season-best distance of 21.59m. Dunkleberger improved his provisional qualifying mark slightly from 20.54m to a throw Saturday of 20.61m (67-7.5).
At the Iowa State Classic, the highlight of the day was Ty Akins recording a provisional qualifying time in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.90 in the semifinals. Akins finished sixth in the finals in 8.04 seconds. Tavaris Washington, after posting a season-best 7.95 in the semifinals, was seventh in the finals with a mark of 8.05.
Jordan Davis had a solid showing in the 3000m, finishing ninth with a time of 8:07.80, less than three seconds off the provisional qualifying time. The men's 4x400m relay team was 10th out of 51 teams with a time of 3:11.84.
In the 400m, Reuben McCoy finished 18th in the 400m with a time of 48.05 seconds. Clay Askew improved his season-best time in the mile with a time of 4:13.61, finishing 30th.
Auburn will take next weekend off before competing at the SEC Indoor Championships Feb. 24-26 in Gainesville, Fla.