The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- June 21, 1999

Second verse same as first: Texas uses last stanza to take track title

Promotional material for future Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships may have to include warnings against experiencing too much excitement.

For the second consecutive year, Texas used a victory in the meet's final event -- the 1,600-meter relay -- to claim the championship, held June 2-5 at Boise State.

Heading into the final event, UCLA led the team scoring with 54 points. Texas was second with 52 and Southern California third with 50, meaning UCLA would have won the title with a victory in the relay. A tie also was possible if Texas won the event and UCLA placed second.

Texas' Suziann Reid, who earlier in the championship became the meet's first three-time winner in the 400-meter dash, joined with Angel Patterson, Aminah Haddad and Tanya Jarrett in leading the Longhorns to victory in 3 minutes, 27.08 seconds. The time was both a meet and collegiate record, breaking the mark of 3:27.50 set by a Texas unit in the 1996 championship.

The possibility of a tie disappeared when Southern California anchor Kinshasha Davis passed UCLA's Michelle Perry down the final straightaway. UCLA ended the meet with 60 points, with cross-town rival Southern California third with 58.

"Entering that final race, I just prayed that nothing bad would happen to any of the teams because I wanted this meet to be won on the track with no mistakes," said Texas head coach Bev Kearney. "It's funny because people tell me I should be confident whenever I enter the 1,600-meter relay because of the team I have, but that's just not the case, especially this year when we were facing so many great teams in that final race."

Reid stole the show as she registered a pair of firsts for Division I female athletes. In addition to becoming the first woman to win the outdoor 400-meter title three times, she also is the only woman in the meet's 18-year history to be part of four consecutive winning relays.

Texas entered the final day of competition holding a three-point lead over both UCLA and Southern California, but fell behind the Bruins after Joanna Hayes finished third in the 100-meter hurdles. Two events later, Reid put Texas back on top with her 400-meter triumph.

Nanceen Perry gave Texas five points in the next event -- the 100-meter dash -- by finishing fourth. Southern California's Angela Williams won the event, while UCLA's Shakedia Jones placed seventh in 11.23. At that point, the Longhorns still held the lead with 46 points. Southern California pushed into second with 39 points, followed by UCLA with 36.

Perry was not done, however, as she posted another fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash just two events later. Haddad finished eighth to pick up another point and push Texas' total to 52 points.

Southern California, which scored eight points in the 1,500-meter run one event earlier on the strength of Grazyna Penc's runner-up effort, added three points in the 200, thanks to a sixth-place showing by Torri Edwards, to trail Texas by just two points (52-50).

UCLA pulled back into contention when Seilala Sua contributed 10 points by winning the discus, and Tracy O'Hara tallied eight with a second-place finish in the pole vault, giving the Bruins the lead with 54 points entering the final relay.

"This was the hardest, most difficult and most trying championship I have ever been a part of," said Kearney. "We had several setbacks and had some confidence problems, but we just persevered. I can't imagine going through a meet like this without this great group of ladies I have."

Sua became just the fourth student-athlete in Division I women's history to win both the shot put and discus in the same meet and to win three consecutive discus titles. She set a meet record in the discus of 210 feet, 10 inches, bettering by two inches the mark she set last year.

"It's cool to win both events, " Sua said. "It's great to keep that Bruin throwing tradition going."

Williams' victory in the 100 was somewhat of a surprise, as she beat two-time defending champion Debbie Ferguson of Georgia. Williams bolted into the lead at the start and finished in 11.04. Ferguson was second in 11.10.

"This is the greatest day of my life," Williams said. "It's like the Olympics."

Villanova's Carrie Tollefson won both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, the first time that feat has been accomplished in Division I history.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Texas, 62; 2. UCLA, 60; 3. Southern California, 58; 4. Georgia, 37; 5. LSU, 32; 6. Southern Methodist, 29; 7. South Carolina, 24; 8. (tie) Brigham Young and Villanova, 23; 10. (tie) Baylor and Pittsburgh, 20.

12. Texas Tech, 18; 13. Stanford, 17; 14. (tie) Nebraska and Ohio St., 15; 16. Ball St., 14; 17. (tie) Florida, Louisiana Tech and Notre Dame, 13; 20. (tie) Houston, Michigan, Tennessee and Washington St., 12.

24. (tie) Kansas, Kansas St. and Penn St., 11; 27. (tie) Appalachian St., Cal Poly and Miami, 10; 30. (tie) George Mason, Georgia Tech, Kent St. and Syracuse, 9.

34. North Carolina, 8 1/2; 35. (tie) Akron, Colorado, Colorado St., Harvard, Minnesota and Northern Ariz., 8.

41. (tie) Arkansas, Clemson, Missouri and Texas A&M, 7; 45. (tie) Tulane, Va. Commonwealth and Wisconsin, 6; 48. (tie) California, Eastern Mich. and Wyoming, 5.

51. (tie) Iowa St., Oregon, Southwest Mo. St. and UTEP, 4; 55. (tie) Florida St., Fresno St., Kentucky, McNeese St., Purdue and Seton Hall, 3.

61. Boise St., 2 1/2; 62. (tie) Connecticut, Eastern Ky., San Diego St. and Southern Utah, 2; 66. (tie) Arizona, UNLV, Providence and Utah, 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

100-meter dash: 1. Angela Williams, Southern California, 11.04; 2. Debbie Ferguson, Georgia, 11.10; 3. Peta-Gaye Dowdie, LSU, 11.13; 4. Nanceen Perry, Texas, 11.15; 5. Latasha Jenkins, Ball St., 11.20; 6. Kelli White, Tennessee, 11.20; 7. Shakedia Jones, UCLA, 11.23; 8. Torri Edwards, Southern California, 11.26.

200-meter dash: 1. Latasha Jenkins, Ball St., 22.29; 2. Debbie Ferguson, Georgia, 22.53; 3. Kelli White, Tennessee, 22.65; 4. Nanceen Perry, Texas, 22.67; 5. Peta-Gaye Dowdie, LSU, 22.81; 6. Torri Edwards, Southern California, 22.89; 7. Shekera Weston, Clemson, 23.23; 8. Aminah Haddad, Texas, 23.36.

400-meter dash: 1. Suziann Reid, Texas, 51.08; 2. Mikele Barber, South Carolina, 51.66; 3. Stella Klassen, Nebraska, 52.07; 4. Yolanda Brown-Moore, Florida, 52.34; 5. Yulanda Nelson, Baylor, 52.55; 6. Samantha George, Florida St., 53.16; 7. Demetria Washington, South Carolina, 53.20; 8. Amy Tidwell, Utah, 54.33.

800-meter run: 1. Claudine Williams, LSU, 2:03.38; 2. Liz Diaz, Texas, 2:03.44; 3. Brigita Langerholc, Southern California, 2:03.79; 4. Tytti Reho, Southern Methodist, 2:04.99; 5. Ashley Wysong, Missouri, 2:05.38; 6. Marissa DeFreese, Seton Hall, 2:05.61; 7. Chantee Earl, Pittsburgh, 2:05.74; 8. Treva Bryant, Brigham Young, 2:06.06.

1,500-meter run: 1. Mary Jayne Harrelson, Appalachian St., 4:21.06; 2. Grazyna Penc, Southern California, 4:22.61; 3. Hanne Lyngstad, Tulane, 4:22.64; 4. Susanne Heyer, Penn St., 4:22.99; 5. Janet Westphal, Wisconsin, 4:24.12; 6. Carmen Douma, Villanova, 4:24.59; 7. Jamie King, Eastern Ky., 4:26.87; 8. Becky Megesi, Georgia Tech, 4:28.15.

3,000-meter run: 1. Carrie Tollefson, Villanova, 9:26.51; 2. Kara Wheeler, Colorado, 9:29.89; 3. Maria-Elena Calle, Va. Commonwealth, 9:33.04; 4. Sharolyn Shields, Brigham Young, 9:34.41; 5. Sally Glynn, Stanford, 9:40.06; 6. Julia Stamps, Stanford, 9:40.82; 7. Jenelle Deatherage, Wisconsin, 9:43.31; 8. Sarah Dupre, Providence, 9:46.18.

5,000-meter run: 1. Carrie Tollefson, Villanova, 16:09.51; 2. Leigh Daniel, Texas Tech, 16:12.72; 3. Katie McGregor, Michigan, 16:15.75; 4. JoAnna Deeter, Notre Dame, 16:18.56; 5. Amy Yoder, Arkansas, 16:20.93; 6. Jessica Koch, Arkansas, 16:23.80; 7. Maggie Chan, Brigham Young, 16:27.95; 8. Elizabeth Jackson, Brigham Young, 16:31.94.

10,000-meter run: 1. Leigh Daniel, Texas Tech, 34:01.63; 2. Tara Rohatinsky, Brigham Young, 34:04.02; 3. JoAnna Deeter, Notre Dame, 34:05.89; 4. Carrie Gould, Eastern Mich., 34:09.50; 5. Marty Hernandez, Brigham Young, 34:09.88; 6. Sherri Smith, Baylor, 34:20.03; 7. Alison Klemmer, Notre Dame, 34:26.74; 8. Emily Nay, Brigham Young, 34:43.98.

100-meter high hurdles: 1. Yolanda McCray, Miami, 12.85; 2. Andria King, Georgia Tech, 12.87; 3. Joanna Hayes, UCLA, 12.89; 4. Dominque Calloway, Ohio St., 12.92; 5. Donica Merriman, Ohio St., 12.96; 6. Jenny Adams, Houston, 12.98; 7. EllaKisha Williamson, South Carolina, 13.25; 8. Joyce Bates, LSU, 13.45.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. Joanna Hayes, UCLA, 55.16; 2. Tanya Jarrett, Texas, 55.80; 3. Dominque Calloway, Ohio St., 56.02; 4. Natasha Danvers, Southern California, 56.03; 5. Saidat Onanuga, UTEP, 57.02; 6. Nikkie Bouyer, Clemson, 57.74; 7. Natalie Gibson, Southern Utah, 58.38; 8. Angel Patterson, Texas, 58.70.

400-meter relay: 1. Texas (Kim McGruder, Nanceen Perry, Lakeesha White, LaKeisha Backus), 42.95; 2. Southern California, 43.52; 3. UCLA, 43.81; 4. Georgia, 43.95; 5. South Carolina, 44.26; 6. Tennessee, 44.61; 7. Clemson, 44.63; 8. Baylor, 44.82.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Texas (Angel Patterson, Aminah Haddad, Tanya Jarrett, Suziann Reid), 3:27.08 [meet record; old record 3:27.50, Texas (Dana Riley, Reid, Donna Howard, Toya Brown), 1996]; 2. Southern California, 3:28.08; 3. UCLA, 3:29.41; 4. LSU, 3:32.07; 5. Southwest Mo. St., 3:33.06; 6. Florida, 3:34.11; 7. Baylor, 3:34.66; 8. George Mason, 3:35.04.

High jump: 1. Kajsa Bergqvist, Southern Methodist, 1.90 (6-2 3/4); 2. Dora Gyorffy, Harvard, 1.90 (6-2 3/4); 3. Nicole Forrester, Michigan, 1.87 (6-1 1/2); 4. Whitney Evans, Washington St., 1.84 (6-0 1/2); 5. Erin Aldrich, Texas, 1.81 (5-11 1/4); 6. (tie) Leslie Price, Boise St., and Joy Ganes, North Carolina, 1.81 (5-11 1/4); 8. Carrie Long, Purdue, 1.81 (5-11 1/4).

Pole vault: 1. Paula Serrano, Cal Poly, 4.10 (13-5 1/4) [meet record; old record 3.80 (12-5 1/2), Bianca Maran, Cal Poly, 1998]; 2. Tracy O'Hara, UCLA, 4.00 (13-1 1/2); 3. Candy Mason, Kansas, 3.90 (12-9 1/2); 4. Andrea Branson, Kansas, 3.90 (12-9 1/2); 5. Niki Reed, Oregon, 3.90 (12-9 1/2); 6. Melissa Price, Fresno St., 3.90 (12-9 1/2); 7. Aimee Crabtree, San Diego St., 3.80 (12-5 1/2); 8. Erin Anderson, Kansas St., 3.80 (12-5 1/2).

Long jump (w indicates wind-aided): 1. Trecia Smith, Pittsburgh, 6.61 (21-8 1/4); 2. Angela Brown, George Mason, 6.47 (21-2 3/4); 3. Pam Simpson, Southern California, 6.46w (21-2 1/2); 4. Jenny Adams, Houston, 6.45 (21-2); 5. Dalhia Ingram, Nebraska, 6.44 (21-1 1/2); 6. Ola Sesay, Kentucky, 6.40 (21-0); 7. Keyon Soley, UCLA, 6.39 (20-11 3/4); 8. Shakeema Walker, Penn St. 6.24 (20-5 3/4).

Triple jump (w indicates wind-aided): 1. Stacey Bowers, Baylor, 13.97 (45-10); 2. Trecia Smith, Pittsburgh, 13.91 (45-7 3/4); 3. Keisha Spencer, LSU, 13.72w (45-0 1/4); 4. Nicole Gamble, North Carolina, 13.61w (44-8); 5. Dalhia Ingram, Nebraska, 13.51w (44-4); 6. Detrich Clariett, Texas A&M, 13.51w (44-4); 7. Shakeema Walker, Penn St., 13.50 (44-3 1/2); 8. LaShonda Christopher, North Carolina, 13.33w (43-9).

Shot put: 1. Seilala Sua, UCLA, 17.60 (57-9); 2. Leslie Vidmar, Kent, 16.77 (55-0 1/4); 3. Rhonda Hackett, Georgia, 16.64 (54-7 1/4); 4. Kristin Heaston, California, 16.46 (54-0); 5. Lisa Griebel, Iowa St., 16.41 (53-10 1/4); 6. Cheree Hicks, Syracuse, 16.21 (53-2 1/4); 7. Linda Nestorsson, Northern Ariz., 16.19 (53-1 1/2); 8. Jessica Marable, UNLV, 15.92 (52-2 3/4).

Discus throw: 1. Seilala Sua, UCLA, 64.26 (210-10) [meet record; old record 64.22 (210-8), Sua, 1998]; 2. Shelly Borrman, Colorado St., 58.45 (191-9); 3. Cheree Hicks, Syracuse, 57.38 (188-3); 4. April Malveo, Louisiana Tech, 55.89 (183-4); 5. Grete Etholm, Southern Methodist, 55.27 (181-4); 6. Deshaya Williams, Penn St., 54.46 (178-8); 7. Nicole Chimko, Minnesota, 54.25 (178-0); 8. Roberta Collins, Kent, 53.34 (175-0).

Hammer throw: 1. Florence Ezeh, Southern Methodist, 63.14 (207-2); 2. Michelle Fournier, South Carolina, 62.91 (206-5); 3. Renetta Seiler, Kansas St., 61.97 (203-4); 4. Robin Lyons, Wyoming, 60.65 (199-0); 5. Anna Whitham, Kansas St., 59.34 (194-8); 6. Jennifer Vail, Southern California, 58.89 (193-2); 7. Bethany Hart, Connecticut, 58.37 (191-6); 8. Maureen Griffin, Arizona, 58.20 (190-11).

Javelin throw: 1. Vigdis Gudjonsdottir, Georgia, 55.54 (182-3); 2. Olivia McKoy, Louisiana Tech, 54.20 (177-10); 3. Linda Lindqvist, Minnesota, 52.60 (172-7); 4. Emily Carlsten, Florida, 52.09 (170-11); 5. Katy Doyle, Texas A&M, 51.73 (169-9); 6. Samantha Chesson, McNeese St., 51.63 (169-5); 7. Serene Ross, Purdue, 51.54 (169-1); 8. Cassi Morelock, Nebraska, 51.38 (168-7).

Heptathlon: 1. Tracye Lawyer, Stanford, 5,855; 2. Christi Smith, Akron, 5,773; 3. Sabine Krieger, Northern Ariz., 5,766; 4. Ellannee Richardson, Washington St., 5,678; 5. Ifoma Jones, Houston, 5,649; 6. Rannveig Kvalvik, Missouri, 5,594; 7. Whitney Evans, Washington St., 5,579; 8. Alicia Brimhall, Brigham Young, 5,575.