Football
Associated Press 21y

LSU, Texas, S. Carolina lead women's race

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- One by one, the schools that had hoped
to block Arkansas' march back to the top of men's track and field
fell to the sidelines Thursday as defending champions and national
leaders faltered.

Auburn's Gabor Mate, a two-time former discus champion and the
clear favorite this year, failed to reach the final at the NCAA
track and field championships.

Mississippi State's Marquis Davis, a top contender in the
sprints, was unable to overcome his left Achilles' tendon injury
and was eliminated in the 200-meter semifinals.

Tennessee's Jabari Greer, who had the best time in the 110
hurdles this collegiate season, stumbled to a last-place finish in
the semis.

With Arkansas poised to start gathering points in the distance
races in which it should dominate, the Razorbacks looked to be in a
commanding position to win their first NCAA outdoor title since a
string of eight consecutive titles ended in 1999.

The team race was considerably closer among the women, with LSU,
Texas and defending champion South Carolina all in position for a
run at the title.

Texas, trying to win a national title for wheelchair-bound coach
Bev Kearney, was looking good in races such as the 400 hurdles -- in
which three of the top four semifinal times were turned in by
Longhorns.

Kearney has continued to coach despite being severely injured in
a December car crash that killed two of her friends.

LSU, a 12-time national champion, has Muna Lee through to the
final of the 100 and 200. But the Tigers lost 200 contender
Stephanie Durst, whose left knee tightened up in the semifinals.

For South Carolina, Aleen Bailey and Erica Whipple are medal
hopefuls in the 100 and 200. Their duel with Lee will have a big
impact on the final team standings.

All three sprinters have competed in five races in the opening
two days of the four-day meet, which has been run in everything
from morning cold to mid-afternoon heat.

With the debut of regional qualifying meets this year, the NCAA
championships grew to a record 1,088 competitors and extra
qualifying heats in the sprints.

The top women's performance on the track Thursday was turned in
by 100 hurdler Perdita Felicien, whose time of 12.68 seconds in the
semifinals tied the third-fastest mark in collegiate history.

The Illinois senior broke the 14-year-old NCAA meet record of
12.70, and set up a showdown with Indiana's Danielle Carruthers in
the final. Carruthers, who won her semifinal heat in 13.04, also
has run a 12.68.

"That race right there, I've done it every single day in
practice," Felicien said, "but I needed to do it when it
counted."

The first medals of the competition were awarded Thursday night
in the decathlon, with Tennessee's Stephen Harris winning the title
with 8,061 points. Will Thomas of Connecticut was second with 7,894
and Maurice Smith of Auburn was third with 7,854.

But the men's competition was littered with failures and
injuries.

Mate, a Hungarian whose best throw of 219 feet, 9 inches was
nearly 18 feet better than anyone else this collegiate season,
managed a best throw of just 181-2 in Thursday's qualifying rounds.

The injured Davis just missed qualifying for the 200 final,
another blow for a Bulldogs squad that was eliminated in the 400
relay when another runner came up lame.

"When I came around the curve it was history," Davis said.

Another disappointment came from South Carolina's Otukile
Lekote, the two-time defending champion in the men's 800. The
Botswanan failed to reach the final Thursday.

Lekote has lacked confidence since a couple of defeats during
the indoor season.

"I'm very disappointed, I'm very upset," he said. "I didn't
want it to end like this."

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