June 11, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A rain delay of more than three hours interrupted the opening night of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday, but couldn't prevent three Auburn individuals and a relay from advancing through their opening rounds.
Sophomore Joanna Atkins, freshman Ryan Fleck, junior Jean-Pierre Weerts and the men's 4x100-meter relay all had a successful opening day for the Tigers, who actually wrapped up competition at John McDonnell Field just before 1 a.m. Central time Thursday morning.
"We had both good and bad today," said head coach Ralph Spry. "We had a couple of opportunities that we didn't capitalize on, where our kids competed but not at the level that they needed to to get into the finals. But on the positive side our men's 4x100-meter relay ran very well and the three kids that advanced after the rain delay all did a good job of staying focused and keeping their composure throughout the delay."
The first bright spot for Auburn came early in the evening, before the rains came, when the Tigers qualified for the finals of the men's 4x100-meter relay. The team of sophomore Stephen Fly, senior Jerod Wims, sophomore Michael DeHaven and freshman Marcus Rowland clocked a season-best time of 39.31 seconds that ranked eighth-best in the prelims. It was also the fastest time by an Auburn 4x100-meter relay team since 1999 and tied for fourth best in school history.
The other three qualifiers had to wait until after the rain delay to compete. In the men's high jump prelims, Fleck needed just two jumps to advance into the finals. He cleared two heights on the first try, clearing a top height of 2.10 meters (6-10.75) to become one of 14 jumpers to move on to Friday night's final. He was one of just seven competitors to advance without a miss in the prelims.
Atkins cruised into the semifinals of the women's 400 meters, posting the third-best time in the first round while winning her heat with a time of 52.23 seconds. Atkins, who entered the meet ranked No. 5 in the field, was just off her personal best of 51.77 seconds. She will next compete in the semifinals on Friday.
Weerts capped the night by grabbing the 16th and final qualifying spot in the men's 5,000 meters. Ranked 24th in the field entering the meet, Weerts finished with a season-best time of 14:04.70 to reach Friday night's final.
The rest of those who competed for Auburn on Wednesday were not as fortunate.
Junior Eric Werskey missed qualifying for the finals of the men's shot put by just one centimeter, finishing 13th in the prelims with a top mark of 18.27 meters (59-11.25). Werskey, who entered the competition seeded 12th with a season-best of 18.58 meters (60-11.5) did improve from last year's NCAA outdoor meet, when he finished 19th, but was one spot shy of making the finals.
Raevan Harris, the lone senior on the women's squad to make the trip to Fayetteville, had her collegiate career come to a disappointing end as she did not qualify for the finals of the high jump, finishing tied for 16th in the prelims with a top mark of 1.74 meters (5-8.5). Harris, who was third at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, finished her Auburn career as a three-time SEC Champion and an All-American.
Junior Danielle Gilchrist just missed getting one of the 18 spots in the semifinals of the women's 400-meter hurdles, placing 20th in the first round with a time of 58.68 seconds. Gilchrist, who finished sixth at last year's NCAA meet, was the SEC Champion and ranked 11th in the field entering the meet.
Competition will resume at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Thursday. Those scheduled to compete for Auburn include Rowland and DeHaven in the men's 200 meters, sophomore Cache Armbrister in the women's 200 meters, sophomore Zach Clayton in the discus, junior Felix Kiboiywo in the 1500 meters, freshman Girma Mecheso in the 10,000 meters and both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay teams.