June 9, 2010
EUGENE, Ore. - The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams had a successful opening day of competition at the NCAA Track and Field Championships Wednesday, where five individuals and two relays were in action.
The Tigers' greatest successes Wednesday came on the track, as Auburn competed in five semifinal races, and went a perfect five-for-five advancing to the finals. The Tigers' two field event athletes also both finished higher than they were seeded.
"We had a lot of expectations for today and I think we met them," said head coach Ralph Spry. "Everybody got through in the track events and our field event people performed well. We gave ourselves a boost today and I'm excited about that. We need to keep this momentum going Thursday and give ourselves a chance to score more points."
Junior Joanna Atkins, the reigning outdoor champion in the 400 meters, cruised into the finals of that event, posting the fastest time in the field in the semifinals with a time of 51.88 seconds. Atkins will defend her national title on Friday.
Sophomore Marcus Rowland, who owns the fastest time in the NCAA in the 100 meters this year, overcame a slow start to reach the finals of the men's 100 meters. Rowland clocked a time of 10.18 seconds, which was third best in the semifinals, but said a false start charged to the competitor in the lane next to him affected his start.
"The false start threw me off," said Rowland. "I'm not the best starter in the world so the last thing I needed was a false start. After my first two steps, though, I knew what I had to do. I kept my feet under me and moved my arms fast and played catch up."
In the women's 100 meters, junior Sheniqua Ferguson reached the finals by placing second in her heat with a time of 10.35 seconds. Ferguson, who will compete in the 200 meters as well, matched her time from the NCAA Preliminary Round and will run in the finals on Friday.
The men's 4x100-meter relay, which entered the meet seeded eighth, advanced to the finals with the fifth-fastest time in the field. The squad of junior Stephen Fly, redshirt freshman Harry Adams, junior Michael DeHaven and Rowland posted a time of 39.18 was the third-best mark in Auburn history and the fastest since 1999.
"I'm proud of my teammates," said Rowland. "We've struggled with some injuries but we put all that aside and made the finals. We put ourselves in a good position for Saturday and we'll be in it to win the race."
The women's No. 2-ranked 4x100-meter relay team did not run its best, but still ran well enough to reach the finals. The team of senior Shaquela Williams, junior Joanna Atkins, Ferguson and sophomore Nivea Smith clocked a time of 44.10 which was sixth best.
In the women's high jump, freshman Maya Pressley finished 10th with a mark of 1.76 meters (5-9.25), just missing out on scoring at the NCAA meet and earning All-American honors. Competing on a wet surface due to rains that delayed the start of the event, Pressley cleared both the opening height of 1.72 meters (5-7.75) and the second height of 1.76 meters on her second attempts, but dropped out when the bar was moved to 1.80 meters (5-10.75).
Senior Eric Werskey opened the competition for Auburn by competing in the men's discus. Werskey was seeded 22nd coming in but finished 16th on Wednesday with a mark of 52.93 meters (173-8). He will compete in the shot put on Saturday.
Competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships continues Thursday with six Auburn athletes and a relay in action. Ferguson, Smith and freshman Kai Selvon will run in the semifinals of the women's 200 meters, senior Felix Kiboiywo will compete in the men's 1500-meter semifinals, sophomore Ben Cheruiyot and senior Elkanah Kibet will run in the men's 10,000-meter finals and the women's 4x400-meter relay team will compete in the semifinals.