Collins Crowned 200-Meter Champion
3/10/2001 12:00:00 AM
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| TCU's Kim Collins crosses the finish line during a heat of the men's 200 meter dash at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday, March 9, 2001. Collins won the event with a time of 20.55 seconds(AP Photo/April L. Brown) |
Collins, who had the fastest preliminary time of 20.58, improved that mark to 20.55 in nipping Washington’s Ja’Warren Hooker by one one-hundreth of a second in the finals. Collins’s time was the fifth fastest recorded in the world this season. He becomes just the second Horned Frog to capture an indoor individual title, joining Raymond Stewart, who won the 55-meter dash in 1989.
"I wouldn’t feel any different if I would have lost, but I’m happy that I won," said Collins. "If we would race tomorrow, I might finish last, that’s how tough the competition is. The main thing that prepares me is the practice sessions. It feels great to be up there in the top five in the world - all of those guys are great athletes."
TCU senior Darvis Patton placed in two events, finishing fifth in the 200 with a time of 20.73 and seventh in the long jump with a mark of 25 feet, 8 3/4 inches. Savante Stringfellow of Mississippi won the long jump with a meet-best 26 feet, 6 1/4 inches.
TCU stands in second place in the team scoring after seven events with 16 points, trailing only Alabama, which has tallied 21 points. Defending outdoor national champion Stanford is third with 15 points, while defending indoor champion and pre-meet favorite Arkansas is fourth with 14 points.
TCU will be well-represented when the competition continues on Saturday. The Flyin’ Frogs placed three runners in the 60-meter dash finals. Collins turned in the second fastest time in the prelims, posting a season-best 6.58. Patton clocked a 6.66 to advance to the finals with the sixth best time, while Lindel Frater completed the TCU trio to advance with a 6.67 mark, the eighth fastest time. Tennessee’s Leonard Scott had the prelims best time with a 6.56.
Junior college transfer Eliud Njubi also reached the finals in the mile run. He had the fifth fastest mark in the prelims with a 4:01.71.
"It was a great day," said TCU head coach Monte Stratton. "We got a national championship for Kim, got a fifth and a seventh from Darvis, got three runners through in the 60 and Eliud in the mile. We’re in second place as a team and have a chance to win it with a good day tomorrow."
Also representing the Horned Frogs on Saturday are Abdul Rasheed in the triple jump and the 1600-meter relay team. The Frogs foursome of David Spencer, Anthony Amantine, LaTarence Dunbar and Roy Williams enter the race with the nation’s second fastest time of 3:06.59, behind only Baylor, who has turned in a 3:04.46.
Quartermiler Roy Williams was the only Horned Frog to fail to qualify for Saturday’s finals. His time of 47.26 placed him in 12th place in the preliminary round on Friday.
On the women’s side, Monica Twum advanced to the finals of the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.34, the fifth fastest mark in the preliminary round.
