GREAT DAY 1 OF THE INDOOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Sorry for not posting the men's ncaa preview life got in the way of the that but let us review the NCAA meet so far.


NCAA'S

Men-

On the men's side the usual suspects, Florida and Arkansas had great first days. The Gators picked up 20 points, while the Razorbacks lead it with 24 points. The Gators have a great chance to finally shake the second place jinks that seems to be plaguing them.

Jeff Demps is the top qualifier in the men's 60 meter dash with his personal best time of 6.56. Senior Jeremy Hall will join him in tomorrow's final after running a 6.62 in the prelims to rank as the third qualifier. Fellow teammates freshman Tony McQuay and senior Calvin Smith will compete in the men's 400 final, Smith is third fastest qualifier and McQuay is the fifth. McQuay and Smith added four points to the team's total after their performances in the men's 200 placing sixth and eighth respectively. Curtis Mitchell of Texas A&M took the title with a 20.38 performance. Junior Ronnie Ash of Oklahoma leads the way in the men's 60 hurdles with a time of 7.55.

In the field event's Arkansas Alain Bailey won the men's long jump leaping to 26-9.75, while Florida's Christian Taylor leaped to a 26-0.25, Bailey's teammate Tarik Batchelor finished third with a mark of 26-0. Kemal Mesic of Florida put 8 huge points on the board with a throw of 63-2.25. Ryan Whiting of Arizona State took home the gold with a throw of 70-7.25. Junior Scott Roth of Washington led the way in the men's pole vault reaching a height of 18-4.50.

In the distance events Oregon who looks to make a serious push towards the title picked up 10 big points in the men's distance relay. Oregon's relay included A.J. Acosta, Chad Barlow, Travis Thompson and Andrew Wheating. Wheating was the star of the event walking down Arkansas' Dorian Ulrey to take the lead in the last 60 meters. Arkansas would finish a dissapointing second. David McNeil of New Mexico ran a very smart tactical race to take the crown in the men's 5,000 with a time of 13:36.41 and Sam Chelanga of Liberty took second clocking in at 13:37.01.

In the men's mile the Ducks of Oregon currently have two qualifiers in the final, A.J. Acosta and Mac Fleet. Acosta ranked fifth with a time of 4:03.21, Fleet is currently tenth with a time of 4:05.64. Lee Emanuel a senior from New Mexico is the leader with a time of 4:02.95. The men's 800 is another event where Oregon looks to score big points. Senior Andrew Wheating of Orregon leads the way with a time of 1:49.23, to lead all qualifiers. Freshman Elijah Greer also of Oregon was unable to qualify.

Women's-

It was a great day on the women's side for the Lady Tigers of LSU and a bit of a dissapointing day for the Texas A&M Aggies. The Lady Tigers, looked as if they were the LSU team from the past. The Oregon sit in fourth place and look to be okay for the final day tomorrow. Currently the Auburn Tigers lead the team race with 18 points while Tennessee is second with 16 points.

The women's 60 is where LSU teams of the past would have a serious presence. The past couple of years not so much. This year the Lady Tigers qualified three women to tomorrow's final. Leading the way for LSU is Junior Kenyanna Wilson who is currently ranked third with a time of 7.25, freshman Takeia Pinckney is currently fifth in 7.26 and senior Samantha Henry is sixth with 7.27. Blessing Okagbare currently leads the event with a time of 7.24. For Texas A&M only Gabby Mayo was able to make the final, Mayo's time of 7.242 currently ranks her second.

Henry was the only Lady Tiger to make it to the final's in the women's 200, Henry finished seventh in the event with a time of 23.52. Auburn sprinters Sheniqua Ferguson and Nivea Smith completed a 1-2 finish in the event, Ferguson clocking in at 23.09 and Smith in 23.12. Jeneba Tarmoh was the lone Aggie in the 200 clocking at 23.29 to finish fifth.

Junior Jessica Beard looked to give A&M a lift with a great seed, Beard qualified second in the women's 400 with a time of 52. 25 while defending indoor Champion Francena McCrory leads the way with 52.14. Joanna Atkins of Auburn the outdoor champion currently ranks third with a time 52.47.

Queen Harrison of Virginia Tech leads the way with the only sub 8 second performance with 7.98 as the top time. Junior's Tierra Brown of Miami and Natasha Ruddock of Texas A&M rank number 2 and 3 with times of 8.00 and 8.07.

In the field events senior Elizabeth Patterson of Arizona lived up to the height by winning the women's high jump reaching a height of 6-4. Senior Amber Kauffman of Hawaii is second with 6-2.75.

Okagbare won the women's long jump with a NCAA Meet Record leap of 22-6.50. Mindy McClurkin of BYU was second with a leap of 21-11.50 and junior Shara Proctor of Florida was third with a 21-9.50 effort.

Junior D'Anna McCarty of Louisville claimed the title in the women's weigh throw with a mark of 74-8.50.

The Distance events were full of exciting races, in the women's distance medley relay after a game of cat and mouse Tennessee won the race with a time of 10:58.37 to beat the favorite Oregon Ducks who finished second with a time of 10:58.96. Brittany Sheffey outdid freshman star Jordan Hasay in the final 100 meters of the race. The Volunteers team consisted of Sheffey, Chanelle Price, Ellen Wortham and Phoebe Wright. Senior Lisa Koll of Iowa State who was the overwhelming favorite in the women's 5,000 certainly lived up to billing clocking in a championship time of 15:39.65.

Hasay had a great performance in the preliminary round of the women's mile running a time of 4:41.89 to rank third, while favorite Charlotte Browning of Florida is ranked fifth with 4:43.35 effort. Katie Follet a senior out of Washington leads the event with a time of 4:41.84. In the women's 800 the two Lady Vols currently are at the top of the leader board. Favorite senior Phoebe Wright is currently number one with a time of 2:04.55 and Chanelle Price clocked in at 2:04.68 to rank third. Molly Beckwith is currently inbetween ranked second with a time of 2:04.61.

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The team races are very interesting, number one Florida is in prime position to claim the title, the Gators must be leary of Arkansas, Florida State and the Ducks of Oregon. On the women's side the Ducks had a pretty good first day but need to do more tomorrow for a team title to be possible. Texas A&M didn't have a great first day however tomorrow leaves the opportunity for them to score big points, the Lady Gators share a similar fate. Finally the Lady Tigers of LSU are interesting story for tomorrow's final day they have a pretty good shot to win the title.