June 5, 2006
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Auburn Heads To NCAA Outdoor Championships
The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams will send 14 athletes (10 women, four men) to Sacramento, Calif., for the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 7-10.
The 14 Tiger athletes will compete in a total of 17 events, as two women (Kerron Stewart and Josanne Lucas) are entered in two individual events each, and all four members of Auburn's 4x100m relay team are also entered in at least one individual event each.
NCAA Championships History
The Auburn women's team stands an excellent chance of posting its best ever finish at an NCAA Outdoor Championship. The best finish for an Auburn women's team has been a pair of 14th-place finishes in 2002 and 2003. The Tigers have had four straight top-20 finishes, placing 18th in 2004 and 15th in 2005.
As for the Tiger men, Auburn has finished in the top 10 in five of the last seven years including a ninth-place finish last year, but with three All-Americans redshirting, that will be difficult to accomplish this season. Auburn's best finish was second place in 2003, and the Tigers were third in 2000 and fourth in 1999.
Tiger Rankings For The NCAA Championships
The following is a list of where Auburn athletes are ranked on the performance lists for the events in which they are entered at the NCAA Championships.
Women
Name Event Rank Time/Distance
Kerron Stewart 100m 1st 11.03
Markita James 400m Hurdles 1st 54.54
Josanne Lucas 400m Hurdles 4th 55.73
Thomas, Jarrett,
James, Stewart 4x100m Relay 5th 43.73
Josanne Lucas 100m Hurdles 6th 12.98
Kerron Stewart 200m 8th 22.84
Angela Homan 10,000m 9th 33:25.40
Jovanee Jarrett Long Jump 10th 6.51m
Michelle Vaughn Triple Jump 10th 13.30m
Michelle Williamson High Jump T16th 1.80m
Katalin Mate Discus 20th 52.98m
Ronda Gullatte Hammer 26th 59.53m
Tamara Thomas 200m T26th 23.52
Men
Name Event Rank Time/Distance
Reuben McCoy 400m Hurdles 2nd 49.47
Ty Akins 110m Hurdles 10th 13.64
Shamar Sands 110m Hurdles T16th 13.72
Andrew Heath 10,000m 20th 28:55.48
NCAA Champions
Auburn has won 25 individual national championships over the years at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, including 20 titles by men and five by women. Auburn has had at least one champion from its men's or women's team for seven straight years. Seven different Tigers have won at least two outdoor national titles for Auburn, while Harvey Glance (1976 100m and 200m, 1977 100m) is the lone three-time individual outdoor champion from Auburn.
NCAA Championships Schedule
The following is a schedule for the events in which Auburn athletes are entered (all times Pacific):
Wednesday, June 7
3:00 pm W-4x100m Relay Semi
3:30 pm W-Long Jump Qual. Jarrett
4:30 pm 100 Hurdles Round 1 Lucas
4:30 pm W-Discus Qual. Mate
4:50 pm 110 Hurdles Round 1 Akins, Sands
5:10 pm W-200m Round 1 Stewart
6:30 pm 100 Hurdles Semi Lucas
6:45 pm 110 Hurdles Semi Akins, Sands
7:00 pm W-High Jump Qual. Williamson
Thursday, June 8
11:00 am W-Hammer Qual. Gullatte
3:30 pm W-100m Round 1 Stewart
4:10 pm W-400 Hurdles Round 1 James, Lucas
4:30 pm M-400 Hurdles Round 1 McCoy
5:20 pm W-100m Semi Stewart
6:30 pm W-Long Jump Final Jarrett
7:20 pm W-10,000m Final Homan
8:00 pm M-10,000m Final Heath
Friday, June 9
1:00 pm W-Triple Jump Qual. Vaughn
3:45 pm W-Discus Final Mate
3:45 pm W-High Jump Final Williamson
4:00 pm W-4x100m Relay Final
5:00 pm 100m Hurdles Final Lucas
5:15 pm 110m Hurdles Final Akins, Sands
5:45 pm W-200m Semi Stewart
6:10 pm W-400 Hurdles Semi James, Lucas
6:20 pm M-400 Hurdles Semi McCoy
Saturday, June 10
10:00 am W-Hammer Final Gullatte
12:30 pm W-Triple Jump Final Vaughn
12:35 pm W-100m Final Stewart
12:52 pm W-400 Hurdles Final James, Lucas
1:02 pm M-400 Hurdles Final McCoy
1:30 pm W-200m Final Stewart
Live Television Coverage
There will be four and one-half hours of live television coverage of the NCAA Championships this year. CBS will broadcast live from 2:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. (Central time) on Saturday, June 10, during which time Auburn could have finalists in the womens 100m and 200m and the men's and women's 400m hurdles.
In addition, CSTV will broadcast live from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. (Central time) on Friday, June 9. That time frame covers possible Auburn performances in the women's 100m hurdles final, the men's 110m hurdles final, the women's 200m semifinals and the men's and women's 400m hurdles semifinals.
Follow The Tigers On The Internet
For complete information on the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships, including a complete schedule and results, visit the official athleteics website of the host school - Sacramento State - at www.hornetsports.com, and click on the Track and Field Championships icon. Recaps and results following each days competition will be posted on Auburn's website: www.auburntigers.com.
Nationally Ranked
The Auburn women are ranked fourth in the latest installment of the Trackwire 25 which was released on trackwire.com May 31. The men's team, which is redshirting three All-Americans, is not in the national rankings. The women's team was ranked No. 2 in the May 17 rankings, and has been ranked no worse than No. 9 this season.
In addition, the Auburn women's team is ranked No. 9 in the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association's May 30 poll.
Record Setting Season
Auburn athletes have set seven new school records this season, including six on the women's side. Angela Homan has posted two of the new school records, breaking the 5,000m mark while winning the Penn Relays title in 16:11.02, and setting the new 10,000m mark at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 33:25.40. Andrew Heath broke the men's 10k record the same night at Stanford with a time of 28:55.48.
Kerron Stewart set a new mark in the 100m with a time of 11.03 at the SEC Championships, Markita James broke the record in the 400m hurdles with a time of 54.54 at the Mideast Regional, and those two teamed up with Josanne Lucas and Tamara Thomas to break the 4x400m relay record with a time of 3:27.93 at the Penn Relays.
Also, Ronda Gullatte set the new hammer throw record of 59.53m (195-4) at the SEC Championships.
Second-Fastest Woman In The World
Kerron Stewart provided perhaps the biggest highlight of the 2006 SEC Outdoor Championships, running what was then the fastest 100-meter time in the world by a woman this year. Stewart blazed to a time of 11.03 seconds, surpassing the previous world best of :11.04 by Allyson Felix on April 22, and a mark of :11.06 by Marion Jones May 13. Stewart set an SEC meet record, beating the previous mark of :11.05 set by Georgia's Debbie Ferguson in 1999, and broke the Auburn record of :11.12 set by Fana Ashby in 2004.
Veronica Campbell bettered Stewart's mark when she ran a :10.99 May 21 in Carson, Calif., but Stewart still owns the second-fastest mark.
James Ranks Among World Elite
At the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, Markita James set a new school and regional record with a time of :54.54. James' time was not only the fastest by a collegian this season, but it ranked her third in the world and second among Americans this year.
SEC Championships Recap
The Auburn women's team had its best showing ever at the SEC Outdoor Championships May 11-14 in Fayetteville, Ark., scoring 135 points to finish runner-up to Georgia by just one point. The Tigers won a school-record six events during the championships. Kerron Stewart won the 100 meters with a school- and meet-record time of :11.03. Angela Homan was a double winner for Auburn, winning the 10,000m for the third straight year while also winning the 5,000m for the first time. The Tigers won both hurdles races, with Josanne Lucas taking the 100m hurdles title, and Markita James edging Lucas for the 400m hurdles crown. Lucas, James and Stewart also teamed with Tamara Thomas to win the 4x400m relay. Auburn's previous best finish was a third-place showing in 1996, and its previous high point total was 102 in 1997.
The men's team tied for ninth at the SEC Championships, scoring 31 points. Reuben McCoy provided the highlight of the meet for Auburn, winning the 400m hurdles with a time of 50.15 seconds, while Tavaris Washington was fifth in that event (:51.89). In the 110m hurdles, Shamar Sands placed fifth (:13.87) and Ty Akins was sixth (:13.89). Jordan Davis was fourth in the 1500m (3:46.77) and Andrew Heath was sixth in the 3,000m steeplechase (8:58.59), with both runners posting regional qualifying times. The Tigers also scored in the 4x100m relay, placing seventh in 41.23 seconds.
Seniors Step Up
Six Auburn seniors were instrumental in the Tiger women scoring a team-record 135 points at the SEC Outdoor Championships May 11-14. The six seniors combined to score 84.25 points for Auburn, including 20.5 from Josanne Lucas, 20 from Angela Homan, 17.75 from Markita James, 14.25 from Jovanee Jarrett, eight from Ronda Gullatte and 3.75 from Tamara Thomas.
Auburn's juniors accounted for 31.75 points, the sophomore class scored five points and the freshman class scored 14 points.
New Track Dedicated
In a ceremony April 22 at the Auburn Invitational, Auburn's new track and field facility was officially dedicated as Hutsell-Rosen Track. Hutsell-Rosen Track is named after Auburn's first two track and field coaches - Wilbur Hutsell, who served 42 years as head coach, and Mel Rosen, who was head coach for 28 years before stepping down to serve as head coach of the 1992 United States Men's Olympic team, and still serves on the staff as Coach Emeritus.
Hutsell-Rosen Track features a BSS 2000 track surface from Beynon Sports Surfaces and is Class I IAAF certified. The season-opening Springtime Invitational March 25 was the first home meet hosted by Auburn since 2003.
