Hog Track Has Strong Showing at USA Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After a rain delay forced a schedule cramp for Friday, Coach John McDonnell found strong performances in his current athletes and former athletes. Nkosinza Balumbu, the 2006 SEC Outdoor Champion in the triple jump, finished fifth in the men’s junior triple jump and Adam Perkins, a 2006 NCAA Outdoor All-American, finished eighth in the prelims of the 1500M and advanced to the next round.

Balumbu marked a leap of 49-8.5 in the men’s junior triple jump. Balumbu, also the SEC Freshman of the Year, recorded only four legal jumps. He marked his first, passed his second, fouled his third and then had three solid jumps to round out the competition.

Perkins, the sixth-place finisher from the 2006 NCAA Championships, clocked a 3:40.56, good for the eighth-fastest qualifying time and advancement to the next round of the event. Perkins was also the second-fastest collegiate finisher with Texas Longhorn Leonel Manzano finishing third overall with a 3:42.74. Perkins will run in the finals of the event on Sunday.

Said Ahmed, now running for Nike, clocked a 3:46.00 in the prelims of the 1500M. He finished 15th in the prelims and was three places from advancing to the next round.

Tyson Gay, former Hog All-American who now runs for Adidas, finished second in the finals of the 100M dash at the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships, in Indianapolis, Ind., on Friday. Gay, running all three rounds of the event in one day due to inclement weather, clocked a 10.15 in the prelims, equaled his prelim time with a clocking of 10.15 in the semifinals and ended the day with a second-place finish and a run of 10.07. Gay earned the silver medal behind Justin Gaitlin who clocked a 9.93 after running a 9.99 in the semifinals and a 10.02 in the prelims.

Former Hog distance runner Daniel Lincoln won the opening round of the 3000M steeplechase with a clocking of 8:33.01. Lincoln was the first finisher in the second heat and had the fastest prelim time of the 21 competitors. The finals of the event will be contested on Sunday.

Gay and Wallace Spearmon will begin with the opening round of the 200M on Saturday with the semifinal and final being contested on Sunday. Eric Brown will also throw the javelin on Sunday.

For complete results of the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships, visit www.usatf.org. The 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships will be televised live on ESPN2 from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, and from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, June 25.