Frogs Ready For Final Round Of National Championships
6/8/2010 12:00:00 AM
June 8, 2010
NOTES | TCU BREAKDOWN | NCAA SITE | MEN'S START LISTS | WOMEN'S START LISTS
FORT WORTH, Texas - Members of the TCU track and field program will wrap up the 2010 season this week at the final round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.The Horned Frogs will send a good nucleus to the final round of nationals with eight individuals and one relay set to compete at Hayward Field. The four-day meet, which will begin on Wednesday, June 9, will take place on the campus of the University of Oregon.
"Its an exciting time of the year," said head coach Darryl Anderson. "Anytime you have invested eight to ninth months of practice into training, it's always great to have a group of people going to the NCAA meet as we always do during this time of year. Overall, we feel really good about the student-athletes we have representing TCU at the final round of the 2010 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships."
The four-day meet will begin on Wednesday morning at 1:00 p.m. with the women's heptathlon, while running events open at 4 p.m. at Hayward Field with the semifinals of the men's 4x100-meter relay.
TCU comes into the final round of the NCAA Championships following competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin. At the West Preliminary Round, the Purple and White advanced eight individuals and one relay into the semifinal round of the National Championships. Individually, four-time All-American Neidra Covington soared to first-place accolades in the women's triple jump to successfully punch her ticket to the semifinal round.
NCAA Outdoor Championships Information
Fans not able to attend the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week can follow the action live by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. There you will find a link to the live results tab, which is located on the schedule page. Following action in Eugene each day, a full recap and final results will be posted on the TCU athletics website. Additional meet information can be found on www.ncaa.com.
The NCAA Championships will also be broadcast nationwide on CBS College Sports on Friday, June 11, beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT. The final day of competition will be aired live on CBS, Saturday, June 12, starting at Noon CT. Fans may also watch online on the TCU athletics website by clicking on the watch live results tab, which is also located on the schedule page.
The Horned Frogs Opening Round Schedule
The Frogs will open competition this week in Eugene on Wednesday, June 9 with the final round of the men's discus at 2:00 p.m. Action on the track will begin with semifinal round of the women's 400 meters at 5:15 p.m. The Purple and White will close the first day of competition with the running of the men's 100 meters at 5:45 p.m.
On Thursday, the women triple jump will open the day at 4 p.m., while the men's 200 will begin in Eugene at 4:15 p.m. Following the semifinal round of the men's 200, TCU will take to the track at 5:55 p.m. with the women's 100-meter hurdles. TCU's men's 4x400 will close the second day of competition at 6:45 p.m. with the semifinals inside Hayward Field.
TCU will open the final day of competition on Saturday with the final round of the women's long jump at 9:30 a.m., while the finals of the men's 5,000 meters will begin at approximately 11:21 a.m.
TCU History At The NCAA Outdoor Championships
TCU has recorded three individual national champions at the National Championships in its history. Raymond Stewart won two outdoor 100-meter titles in 1987 and 1989, while TCU great Khadevis Robinson captured the 1998 title in the men's 800 meters, which is the last time a Frog has been crowned an NCAA Outdoor Champion. Overall, TCU has produced more NCAA Championships in the 4x100 relay than any other school over the last 30-plus years. It all started modestly with a fifth-place finish by the mile relay at the 1973 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Since then, TCU has produced five NCAA Outdoor National Champions in the event.
The Frogs last 4x400 title came in 1983 when Allen Ingraham, James Richard, Keith Burnett and David Walker brought home TCU's first NCAA title with a time of 3:02.09 seconds.
As a team, the Horned Frogs highest finish on the men's side is second-place in 2001, while the women's highest finish is 12th in 1993. Finally, TCU will look to add to its 241 All-America honorees this week in Eugene.
Covington Named South Central Field Athlete of the Year
A week after winning the women's triple jump at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, senior Neidra Covington was honored last week as the South Central Region Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Covington heads to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships having won both the Mountain West Conference and NCAA West Preliminary Round in the triple jump. The senior, who ranks No. 4 in the NCAA in the triple jump and No. 13 in the long jump, closed her Mountain West Conference career, crushing the rest of the field in the triple jump with a new stadium, school and MWC Championships record. The four-time All-American soared 44 feet, 2 inches to win championship accolades. Covington, who will compete in both the long and triple jump in Eugene, jumped a personal-best 21 feet, ¾ inches in the long jump at the NCAA West Preliminary Round to advance to Eugene following a third-place showing in the long jump at the conference championships. Overall, Covington is the No. 1 ranked triple jumper in both the West Region and Mountain West Conference this spring. She is one of only six student-athletes to qualify for Eugene in both the long and triple jump.
Last Year At The NCAA Championships
TCU had three student-athletes and one relay named All-American in 2009. Junior Jessica Young highlighted the Frogs' honorees last spring, earning runner-up honors in the women's 100 meters. Young collected second-place honors with a time of 11.22 seconds. The four-time All-American was clipped at the line by Texas' Alexandria Anderson who clocked a winning-time of 11.20 seconds to win the event. Young looked to have captured TCU's first National Championship on the women's side halfway through the race, but Anderson leaned at the line to win the event.
As a team, the TCU women closed the meet in 35th-place with nine points, while the Horned Frog men ended nationals in 67th with one point. Texas A&M captured both the men and women's titles.
Breaking Down The Horned Frogs
TCU will have representatives in four events on the women's side and five events on the men's side, including the men's 4x400 relay.
Neidra Covington, Charles Silmon and Mychal Dungey will represent the Horned Frogs in two events in Eugene. Dungey will compete in the 200 meters and 4x400, while Covington will don the Purple and White in the women's long and triple jump. Covington is coming off a performance in which she won the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the women's triple jump. Finally, Silmon will take to the track in the 100 and 200 meters at Hayward Field.
In the women's long jump, sophomore Whitney Gipson, a two-time All-American, will make her second-straight trip to the final round of the NCAA Championships, opening up in the women's long jump. Also competing in Eugene on the women's side will be Kristal Juarez in the 400 meters and Larissa Matthews in the 100-meter hurdles, respectively. Matthews will look for her first All-America honor of her young career after breaking the school record at the first round of the NCAA Championships, while Juarez will try and become a two-time All-American after claiming All-America accolades during the 2010 indoor season in the 400 meters.
On the men's side, Festus Kigen will compete in the men's 5,000 meters after placing 12th overall at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, while Tommy Killen will look to close his TCU career capturing his first All-American accolade in the men's discus.
Finally, the men's 4x400, which consists of Dell Guy, Clemore Henry, Dungey and Sean Zurko, will compete this week in Eugene after clocking the No. 10 ranked time in the NCAA at the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
TCU In World Rankings
Heading into the final rounds of the NCAA Championships, senior Neidra Covington ranks No. 53 in the women's triple jump. Fellow jumper Whitney Gipson cracked the world rankings after a runner-up performance at the conference championships, moving up to No. 20 in the women's long jump, while Covington sits No. 38 in the event after qualifying for the next round of the NCAA Championships.
The men's 4x400 of Dell Guy, Clemore Henry, Mychal Dungey and Sean Zurko currently sits No. 27 in the world rankings according to IAAF heading into Eugene.
The National Breakdown
Heading into the final rounds of the NCAA Championships, the Frogs have a strong contingency ranked amongst the final 24 student-athletes who will be competing in Eugene this week.
Freshman Charles Silmon leads TCU in the men's 100 meters, heading into the semifinal round with the No. 19 seed after clocking a preliminary round time of 10.37 seconds. The freshman has posted a seasonal and personal-best time of 10.24 seconds this spring.
In the men's 200 meters, Silmon, who clocked a personal-best time of 20.58 seconds at the West Preliminary Round, heads to Eugene 11th amongst the final 24 competitors, while junior Mychal Dungey posted the 15th-best preliminary time amongst the final 24 in the event.
After grabbing the final spot at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, junior Festus Kigen will look to capture his second All-America certificate this week in Eugene. He goes into the final round of the men's 5,000 meters ranked No. 19 after crossing the finish line with a time of 14:10.23 in Austin.
The men's 4x400, which consists of Dell Guy, Clemore Henry, Dungey and Sean Zurko, qualified for Eugene after clocking a seasonal-best time of 3:05.46 at the first round of the NCAA Championships. The quartet, who ranks in the top 10 in the NCAA, goes into nationals with the 10th-best time amongst competitors.
Senior Tommy Killen leads the Frogs in the men's discus, ranking No. 20 amongst competitors in Eugene. He will look to earn All-American honors this week at Hayward Field.
In the women's 400 meters, junior Kristal Juarez, who was an indoor All-America honoree, grabbed one of the final spots in the event, ranking No. 21 amongst competitors after posting a time of 53.23 at the West Preliminary Round.
Larissa Matthews heads to the semifinal round of the NCAA Championships after winning the conference title in the 100-meter hurdles last month. The freshman, who shattered the school record in the event at the West Preliminary Round in Austin, will look to better her 13.26, which sits No. 19 amongst the final 24 competing in Eugene.
TCU has excelled in the women's long jump rankings all season with both Whitney Gipson and Neidra Covington ranked in the top 20 in the NCAA. Gipson, who is currently No. 4 in the NCAA, goes to nationals ranking No. 8 amongst competitors, while Covington follows at No. 9. Covington also moved into the top 5 in the NCAA in the women's triple jump after winning the conference championships last month, soaring to the No. 4 jump in the country. She heads to nationals ranked No. 7 amongst the final 24 competitors.
Up Next
TCU will send a solid nucleus to the USA Championships, which will take place in Des Moines, Iowa.
Players Mentioned
