Jan. 27, 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Donald Thomas and Shamar Sands both posted automatic qualifying marks to lead Auburn in another standout performance at the Diet Pepsi Invitational Saturday. Auburn won four events and posted six qualifying marks, two automatic and four provisional.
"As a team, we competed better this weekend," Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. "We got some more people qualified and had a lot of personal bests."
Thomas posted a mark of 2.3m (7-6.50) in the high jump, which broke the Auburn indoor record, won the event and earned him an automatic spot in the NCAA Championships. His jump also currently stands as the best collegiate mark in the nation and the fifth best mark in the world this year.
Sands posted a provisional qualifier of 7.27 in the 55m hurdles prelims, and then ran a personal-best 7.17 in the finals to win the event and earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships. His time adjusted for the 60m hurdles would currently rank him third nationally among college athletes and fifth in the world this year.
Ty Akins also qualified provisionally in the 55m hurdles, running a 7.33 in the prelims, and Mark Johnson posted a 5.2m (17-0.75) mark in the pole vault to qualify provisionally and finish second.
The other event winner for the men was the distance medley relay team of Felix Kiboiywo, Scott Novack, Johnathon Haynes and Simon Nyang. The team ran a 10:09.96 to win the event by almost 13 seconds.
Tracy Ann Rowe had a big day for the women's team, posting two provisional marks in the 55m and the 200m. Her 200m time of 23.82 gave her the win, while her 6.92 time in the 55m earned her a fourth-place finish.
Auburn travels to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Relays on Feb. 2-3.