Frogs Set for July's International Competition
7/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Outdoor Track
FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU track and field will be well represented internationally during the month of July.
Ronnie Baker, fresh off a tremendous showing at the USA Championships last week in Eugene, Oregon, heads to South Korea to represent USA at the World University Games. The Games run from July 3-14, while the track and field portion is slate for July 8-12. Baker will compete in the 100 meters and will be a staple on the 4x100 relay.
"The World University Game is the biggest athletic sporting event outside of the Olympics, by the numbers," TCU director of track and field Darryl Anderson said. "It's like the Olympic games in the fact that they house all sports from basketball to rifle.
"Ronnie will run the 100 and the 4x100 relay, which is a great opportunity for him. It's his first international experience, which is always a lot of fun. I think he'll perform well there coming off of USA Championships, where he made the final and got seventh in the final competing with the likes of Tyson Gay and so on. It was outstanding, he's had a great season and this is the cherry on top for him."
At the USA Championships, Baker went toe-to-toe with the best sprinters in the country and posted a first round time of 9.94 seconds in the 100-meter dash behind a wind that was just above the allowable at +2.1 m/s to finish third in his heat. That time was a lifetime best under any conditions and was the second time in his career that he hit a mark under 10 seconds. It also sent him to the semifinal round, where he tallied another wind-aided 9.94 to place fourth and advance to the final. With the wind at a standstill, Baker put up a time of 10.19 to finish seventh overall.
ESPNU and ESPN3 will cover the World University Games, with live coverage on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.com on: July 8 – 1 a.m. July 9 – 3 a.m. July 10 – 2:30 a.m. July 11 – 3 a.m. On July 15, ESPNU will broadcast a special hour at 6 p.m. devoted entirely to recapping the track and field events from the World University Games.
Opening ceremonies for the World University Games take place on Friday, July 3.
July 3 also marks the beginning of the Sainsbury's British Championships featuring current student-athlete Sam Watts (200 meters) and former TCU standout and two-time NCAA Champion Lorraine Ugen (long jump).
Watts, fresh off the NCAA Outdoor Championships, returns home to take part in the 200-meter dash on Friday, July 3, at 1:30 p.m. CST, with the final set for July 4 at 1:05 p.m. CST.
This season, Watts tallied All-America honors at both the indoor and outdoor championships, taking home an eighth place mark during indoors and 17th at the outdoor meet. During the indoor season, he spent a week as the world-leader in the event at 20.69 seconds. His top time this season in the 200-meter dash was also his personal-best among wind-legal times at 20.68, set at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Ames, Iowa. Last season, he notched an all-conditions PR behind a wind-aided time of 20.50.
Also competing at the meet is Lorraine Ugen, who also set a new PR this season in the long jump during the IAAF Diamond League series in Doha, Qatar. At the meet, she hit a distance of 6.92m (22-8.5). It was the second time she had landed above 6.90m this season, the first coming at the Texas Relays on March 28 at a wind-aided distance of 6.96m (22-10).
Ugen will compete on Sunday, July 5, at 10:21 a.m. CST.
Another former standout competing this weekend is 2013 NCAA Champion Charles Silmon, who is set to take on the IAAF Diamond League series in Paris on Saturday, July 4. Silmon will take on the 100-meter dash after running his best marks of the season last week in the event at the USA Championships. In round one, he posted a wind-legal 10.02, a seasonal-best, advancing him to the semifinal round. In the next round, Silmon posted a wind-aided 9.94, missing the final by 0.001 seconds. It was the second time this season that he's notched a sub-10 time, hitting a 9.91(w) at the Texas Relays on March 28.
But Silmon won't be the only Frog competing in the 100 in Paris. He will be joined by 2001 NCAA 60-meter Champion and 39-year-old Kim Collins, who led the world this indoor season in the 60 meters at 6.47 seconds. Collins has also achieved a time under 10 seconds this season in the 100-meter dash, a wind-legal 9.99 in Eugene, Oregon, on May 30.
Silmon and Collins are slated to compete on Saturday, July 4, at 2:52 p.m. CST.
From there, Silmon heads to the Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada, from July 20-26.
