Notes - Saturday Night

Sixteen Audrey J. Walton Stadium records and 13 regional records fell as the LSU Tigers won both the men's and women's Mideast Regional competitions held in Columbia, Mo., May 25-26, 2007.

Stadium Records (including Day One):

Mideast Regional Records (including Day One):

Women's Hammer Throw

As in the men's hammer throw yesterday, new Walton Stadium and Mideast Regional records were set in the hammer throw ring. Southern Illinois' Brittaney Riley threw 237-4 (72.33m) on her final attempt, nearly 30 feet further than the runner-up from Ohio State, Veronica Jatsek. Riley is the reigning Indoor Champion in the women's weight throw and was fourth a year ago at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the hammer. Also earning automatic bids to nationals are Stevi Large from Akron, Astin Steward from Purdue and Krishna Lee from Missouri. Lee, who was second in the shot put, set a new Missouri school record with her throw of 199-6 (60.82m).

Men's High Jump

Auburn's Donald Thomas easily won the Mideast Regional title with a clearance of 7-6.5 (2.30m). His jump set new Walton Stadium and Mideast Regional records. He missed three attempts at 7-8.5 (2.35m), which would have been the best jump in the world in 2007. Thomas came into the Mideast Regional as the top seed with a season best 7-8 (2.34m). He is the current co-world leader and defending NCAA Indoor champion. Joining Thomas with automatic bids to nationals will be Louisville's Tone Belt, Arkansas State's James Jenkins, Notre Dame's Blair Macjina and Illinois State's Alex Straughn. Belt, who won the long jump Friday night, placed fifth in last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Men's Shot Put

Cory Martin will leave Columbia and the Mideast Regional a double winner. The Auburn junior won the men's shot put competition by nearly a foot (63-6, 19.35m) over Eastern Michigan's Dave Adamek. Kentucky senior Gavin Ball, Southern Illinois junior Brenton Siemons and Missouri senior Bill Hobson automatically qualified for the NCAA Outdoor championships. Martin won the hammer throw yesterday and eclipsed Walton and Mideast Regional records in the process. He is currently fourth in the NCAA shot put ranking. With Martin's victory, the past four Mideast Regional winners have come from athletes representing the SEC.

Women's Pole Vault

Arkansas senior Jodi Unger outdualed LSU freshman Katelyn Rodrigue to win the women's pole vault with a clearance of 13-3.75 (4.06m). Unger was fourth in the Regional a year ago, and fifth at the NCAA Outdoors. Arkansas' Janice Irwin, Eastern Michigan's Janice Keppler and Indiana State's Kylie Hutson automatically advance to nationals. Irwin was sixth earlier this year at NCAA Indoors.

Women's Discus

Coming off a first place finish in the hammer throw earlier in the day, Riley placed third in the discus. Purdue's Astin Steward entered as the top seed and won the event with a toss of 174-07 (53.22m); Steward was coming off a third place showing at the hammer throw.Tennessee's Shanna Dickenson took second with a 173-09 (52.97m) hurl on her sixth and final attempt. Kentucky's Ashley Muffet finished fourth and Notre Dame freshman Jaclyn Espinoza rounded out the top five.

Men's Triple Jump

Louisville's Andre Black set an Audrey J. Walton Stadium record in route to a victory in the men's triple jump. Black, the reigning indoor national champion, finished just out of automatic qualifying with a sixth place finish in the long jump. His jump of 53-3.75 (16.25) was good enough to beat second place runner-up Michael Whitehead of Michigan. The Wolverine senior was second at last year's NCAA Outdoors after a seventh place finish at the Mideast Regional. Rounding out the final three qualifiers were James Jenkins of Arkansas State, Carjay Lyles of Tennessee and Nkosinza Balumbu of Arkansas.

Women's Triple Jump

Six of the top eight finishers in last year's Mideast Regional returned for this year's event. Auburn's Michelle Vaughn won with a jump of 44-5.25 (13.54m), an attempt that set new Mideast Regional and Stadium records. Vaughn's jump moves her to third on the NCAA list. Toledo senior April Williams placed second. Miruna Mataoanu, who won the women's high jump competition on Friday, placed third. Illinois' Yvonne Mensah placed fourth, followed by LSU's Andrea Linton. Linton was fifth a year ago at the NCAA Outdoor championships. Mensah won the Mideast Regional a year ago in Knoxville with a jump of 44-1.5 (13.45m) and set the old regional record.

Men's Javelin

The top five qualifiers in the men's javelin throw all came from schools in the state of Louisiana. Chris Hill, a freshman from McNeese State, took the crown with a throw of 236-2 (71.98m) on his sixth and final attempt. Hill was followed by Southeast Louisiana's Curtis Moss, Northwestern State's Cody Fillinch, LSU's Chad Radgowski and LSU's Preston Chatham. Radgowski's qualifying throw of 239-8 (73.06m) is good for third in the NCAA.

Men's 4x100-meter relay

LSU defended it's Mideast Regional 4x100-meter relay title with a time of 39.53. The Arkansas Razorbacks placed second, and Middle Tennessee State was third. The top three relays automatically qualify for nationals. Tennessee set an Audrey J. Walton Stadium record in qualifying as the fastest seed in yesterday's prelims, but they had baton problems in the first exchange zone and finished eighth. LSU is the defending Mideast Regional and reigning NCAA Outdoor champion.

Women's 4x100-meter relay

As with the men, the LSU women won the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 44.60. The Tennessee women grabbed the top seed in yesterday's prelims and finished second with a time of 45.17. Ole Miss grabbed the third and final automatic qualifying spot. LSU is currently ranked first in the NCAA, sixth in the world and the defending Mideast Regional champs. The ninth-ranked team in the world, the Auburn Tigers, were disqualified in the prelims.

Men's 1500-meter run

Notre Dame's John Benninger led three and a half laps before being overtaken by Kentucky's John Richardson on the homestretch. Richardson, the runner-up at the Mideast Regional a year ago, clocked a 4:16.43. Wisconsin's Craig Miller was second and Benninger settled for third. Two Michigan teammates grabbed the last two automatic qualifying spots--Mike Woods took fourth and Justin Switzer, who was allowed in the field via protest, finished fifth. Notre Dame's Jake Watson had the fastest preliminary run with a Midest Regional record 3:43.90. All five top finishers in last year's Mideast Regional made it to the finals--Vincent Rono, Richardson, Tyler DeVault, Woods and Adam Perkins.

Women's 1500-meter run

Michigan's Nicole Edwards repeated as the Mideast Regional champion with a time of 4:16.43. Arkansas' Dacia Barr overtook two Tennessee women--Sarah Bowman and Rose-Ann Galligan--on the backstretch to place second. Wisonsin's Ann Detmer grabbed the fifth and final automatic qualifying spot. Bowman clocked the fastest prelim time on Friday with a 4:18.43. Edwards was fourth at the NCAA Outdoor championships a year ago. Bowman was sixth at this year's Indoors. Four of the five top five finishers at last year's Mideast Regional made it to the finals.

Men's 110-meter hurdles

Running with a slight tailwind, Ole Miss' John Yarbrough won the 110-meter hurdles and set a new Audrey J. Walton Stadium record with a time of 13.48. Auburn's Tyrone Akins was second, LSU's Alleyne Lett took third and Purdue's Keith Hopkins finished fourth. Michigan's Jeff Porter took the fifth and final automatic qualifying spot. Ole Yarbrough and Akins also finished one-two on Friday in the prelims. Porter and Lett finished one-two at the 2007 NCAA Indoor 60-meter hurdles.

Women's 100-meter hurdles

Running with a slight headwind, LSU's Jessica Ohanaja upset Michigan's Tiffany Ofili with a time of 13.02, beating the No. 1-seeded Ofili by .01. Ohanaja's time was good for Mideast Regional and Audrey J. Walton Stadium records. Ohanaja's teammate, Nickiesha Wilson took third. LaNeisha Waller of Illinois and Amber Williams of Ball State nabbed spots four and five. With Angel Boyd's sixth place showing, LSU scored 19 big points in the event.

Men's 100-meter dash

In the preliminaries, Middle Tennessee State's Orlando Reid edged out America's fastest man in 2007, Trindon Holliday of LSU, with a time of 10.31. In the finals, Holliday ran a 10.07 into a headwind, winning the race, setting new Mideast and Stadium records and improving to third on the world list; Reid settled for third. Wisconsin's Demi Omole took second, more than a tenth of a second behind Holliday. Two SEC runners grabbed spots No. 4 and 5--J-Mee Samuels from Arkansas and Rubin Williams from Tennessee.

Women's 100-meter dash

Tulane's Gloria Asumnu ran away with the women's 100-meter dash, narrowly missing out on a Stadium record with her time of 11.27. Four Southeastern Conference runners filled the four other qualifying spots--Sherry Fletcher from LSU took second, Lynne Lane from Tennessee finished third, Kelly Ann Baptiste of LSU was fourth and Auburn's Tracy Anne Rowe grabbed the final automatic qualifying spot. As with the women's 100-meter hurdles, LSU scored 16 points to pad their growing lead.

Men's 400-meter dash

In one of the most competitive races of the meet, Wisconsin's James Groce became only the second non-SEC runner to win the Mideast Regional 400-meter dash. Groce's time of 45.98 bested Mississippi State's Bruce Davis by .04. LSU's Siraj Williams was within .01 of Davis and took third. Luis Luna of Kentucky, the top seed after the preliminaries settled for fourth. Southern Miss' Cornelius Duncan rounded out the automatic qualifiers.

Women's 400-meter dash

The top seven finishers in the 400-meter run represented SEC schools. Winning the race with a time of 52.10 was Arkansas' Jessica Cousins. Her teammate Tominque Boatright took second followed by LSU junior Deonna Lawrence, Kentucky's Jenna Martin and Mississipi State's Kenyata Coleman. With the top two finishers, Arkansas added a key 18 points to their total, bringing them much closer to the leaders, the Tigers from LSU.

Men's 800-meter run

Mississippi State's Golden Coachmen was unable to compete last year after being deployed to Iraq. He led for 675 meters before being taken over by two-time Mideast Regional champ, Andrew Ellerton of Michigan. Ellerton's time of 1:46.84 re-set the Stadium record he notched yesterday in the prelims and moved him to the top of the NCAA list. Missouri's Marcus Mayes, who made the final via protest, took runner-up honors for the second year in a row. Tennessee's Yarrick Kincaid finished third, while Coachmen finished fourth. Coachmen's teammate, Chris Woods, took the fifth and final automatic spot.

Women's 800-meter run

Two Michigan runners topped the list of women's 800-meter runners. Senior Katie Erdman led from the gun and fell just short of her Stadium and Mideast Regional record-setting performance in the prelims with a finals time of 2:01.99. Her sophomore teammate Geena Gall was second. Latavia Thomas, an LSU freshman, was third with a time four seconds faster than her seed time. Missouri's Trisa Nickoley qualified fourth and Western Michigan's Becky Horn was fifth.

Men's 400-meter hurdles

LSU's Isa Phillips and Aurburn's Rueben McCoy finished as they qualified for the Mideast Regional--one-two. Phillips time of 49.68 bested his SEC counterpart by .69 of a second. Western Kentucky's Jason Brohow, Indiana State's Paladin Jordan and Eastern Michigan's Eric Alejandro rounded out the top five.

Women's 400-meter hurdles

LSU's Nickiesha Wilson edged out top-seeded Ajoke Odumosu of South Alabama to win the women's 400-meter hurdles title with a time of 55.20 and set a new Walton Stadium record in the process. Odumosu took second while Illinois twins' Camile and Carlene Robinson finished third and fourth. Louisiana Tech's Miriam Barnes grabbed the fifth spot.

Men's 200-meter dash

Tennessee's Evander Wells won the 200-meter dash with a 20.49, missing the Walton stadium record by .01. Orlando Reid of Middle Tennessee State, who finished third in the 100-meter dash, was second. Wells' teammate, Rubin Williams followed his fifth place finish in the 100-meters with a third place showing in the 200. Two Louisiana Tech runner--Michael Coleman and Albert Fullwood--finished fourth and fifth and will automatically qualify for Sacramento.

Women's 200-meter dash

Auburn's Kerron Stewart ran away from the 100-meter dash winner, Tulane's Gloria Asumnu, to win the 200-meter dash. Stewart's time of 22.41 was good enough to set new Mideast and Walton Stadium records. Three 100-meter top eight finishers rounded out the automatic qualifiers for nationals--Latonia Wilson from Louisiana Tech, Sherry Fletcher from LSU and Samantha Henry from LSU.

Men's 3000-meter steeplechase

Alabama's Augustus Maiyo charged hard down the final homestretch to catch and overtake Ole Miss's Barnabus Kirui to win the men's 3000-meter steeplechase. Maiyo's time of 8:35.12 set a new Mideast Regional record. Eastern Michigan's Corey Nowitzke finished third; his teammate Josh Karanja was fifth. Arkansas's Peter Kosegi took fourth to make it three SEC runner in the top four. Kirui and Nowitzke entered the race as the NCAA's top two steeplechasers. Kirui, a native of Kenya, came into the weekend ranked 11th in the world. Nowitzke is No. 4 on the U.S. list. Kosegi was the 2005 Mideast Regional champ.

Women's 3000-meter steeplechase

Michigan senior Anna Willard qualified for the Mideast Regional in the 800-meter run, 1500-meter run, 5000-meter run and the 3000-meter steeplechase. She chose to declare in only the steeplechase. Her time of 9:44.88 was good enough for a 25-second victory over Michigan State's Nicole Bush and new Audrey J. Walton and Mideast Regional records. Wisconsin's Havahla Haynes, Michigan State's Sarah Price and Michigan's Arianne Field wrapped up the remaining three qualifying spots.

Men's 4x400-meter relay

The Bayou Bengals have won the Mideast Regional 4x400-meter relay each year it has been contested, but the Kentucky Wildcats used a strong fourth leg to beat out LSU and Mississippi State at the wire to win with a time of 3:04.49. Kentucky was the runner-up earlier this year at the NCAA Indoor Championship. LSU came into the Regional with the NCAA's second best time and the eighth best mark in the world. Mississippi State was seeded third and ranked seventh in the country.

Women's 4x400-meter relay

LSU took the first step to defending their national title in the women's 4x400-meter relay with a victory in a time of 3:30.40. Louisiana Tech and Arkansas grabbed the remaining automatic qualifying spots. Three of the top five finishers at last year's NCAA Outdoor championships were among the field. The LSU Tigers are currently ranked second in the NCAA and third in the world.

 

Notes - Friday Night

Stadium Records

Mideast Records

Men's Hammer Throw

Auburn's Cory Martin beat 34 other competitors in the men's hammer throw and eclipsed Audrey J. Walton Stadium and Mideast Regional records in the process with his throw of 226-6 (69.06m). Martin entered the meet as the top hurler in the NCAA with his qualifying toss of 243-3 (71.42m). Recorded at the SEC Championships May 11, that throw has Martin in fifth place on the current USA Track and Field performance lists. Joining Martin in the NCAA Outdoor Championhips will be teammate Jake Dunkleberger, Kent State's Andy Nicholas, Memphis' Steffen Nerdal and Kent State's Jaroslaw Zakrewski. Dunkleberger, a four-time All-American, and Nerdal, the Conference USA champion, had personal best throws; Nicholas was third a year ago.

Women's High Jump

Alabama senior Mira Mataoanu defended her 2006 Mideast Regional championship with a jump of 6-2.75(1.90m). Mataoanu's jump eclipsed the Audrey J. Walton Stadiums record and her own Mideast Regional record; it was also an Alabama school record. A year ago in Knoxville, Tenn., Mataoanu's jump of 6-1.5 (1.87m) set the Mideast Record and beat runner-up Natalie Sako of Akron by 4.25 inches. Mataoanu's jump of 1.90 meters today is good for third in the NCAA this season. Auburn's Raeven Harris jumped 1.87m, briefly setting a Walton Stadium record, before missing all three attempts at 1.90m and settling for second. Harris was third at the SEC Championships two weeks ago. Michigan's Bettie Wade (Big 10 champion), LSU's Shaunette Davidon and Cincinatti' Renee Hein (Big East champion) placed third, fourth and fifth respectively and automatically qualify for nationals.

Women's Shot Put

Memphis senior Gail Lee came into the Mideast Regional seeded second, but she leaves as the Regional champion after tossing a throw of 53-01.75 (16.20m) on her first attempt and holding off Missouri's Krishna Lee, Western Michigan's Kristalyn Mauch, Northern Illinois' Ashley Morrow and Purdue's Stacey Wannemacher. Lee hurled a personal best and came into the field seeded 12th.

Men's Pole Vault

Two freshmen took the top two spots in the men's pole vault in a field that included reigning indoor national champion Brad Gebauer of McNeese State. Kent State freshman Jeremy Brading was the only athlete to clear 17-1. Brad Gebauer decided to pass on 16-7.25, but failed to clear 17-1. As a result, Illinois freshman Andrew Zollner took second. Blake Burkholder of Indiana, Eric Sparks of Purdue and Michael Hogue of Tennessee round out the automatic qualifiers.

Men's 4x100-meter relay

Tennessee, LSU, MTSU, Arkansas and Grambling State, Indiana, Louisiana Tech, and Eastern Tennessee State University all advance to the finals of men's 4x100-meter relay. Tennessee set a Walton record with their qualifying time of 39.51. Grambling came in as the 18th seed; Indiana was the 19th seed; ETSU was 10th; all others were top 8 seeds.

Women's 4x100-meter relay

Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Tulane, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Louisville all advance to tomorrow's final of the women's 4x100-meter relay. Two of the top eight seeds--Auburn, Louisiana Tech--were disqualified. Auburn came into the Mideast Regional as the ninth fastest 400-meter relay team in the world.

Men's 1500-meter run

Notre Dame's Jake Watson will be the top seed in tomorrow's 1500-meter run final. After a 3:43.90, Watson was one of four runners to dip under the previous Mideast Regional meet record. Defending national champion Vincent Rono of South Alabama will be the second seed. The sixth place finisher at the 2006 NCAA Outdoors, Adam Perkins of Arkansas, took the 12th and final qualifying spot. Other qualifiers for tomorrow's race that begins at 4:20 p.m. include Felix Kiboiywo of Auburn, Kurt Benninger of Notre Dame, John Richardon of Kentucky, Ian Boyle of Michigan State, Craig Miller of Wisconsin, Jake Bolas of Wisconsin, Mike Woods of Michigan, Tyler Devault of Tennessee and Darren Gauson of Butler. Justin Switzer of Michigan qualified via protest to complete the field with 13 runners.

Women's 1500-meter run

Tennessee sophomore Sarah Bowman beat out defending Mideast Regional champion Nicole Edwards and last year's runner-up Michaela Courtney to earn the top seed in tomorrow's 1600-meter run final. The No. 2 NCAA runner, Dacia Barr of Arkansas, won her heat and will advance as the two seed. Bowman will be joined by two other Lady Vol milers, Rose-Anne Galligan and Rolanda Bell. Also in the field: Angela Bizzari and Kate Engel of Illinois, Ann Detmer and Gwen Jorgensen of Wisconsin and Corrie Whisner and Laura Farley of Purdue.

Men's 110-meter hurdles

As in the men's 100-meter prelim, six of the top eight seeds have advanced in the men's 110-meter hurdles. The top two seeds--John Yarbrough of Ole Miss and Tyron Akins of Auburn--will be side-by-side in the finals tomorrow in Lanes 4 and 5. LSU sends two hurdlers into the finals--Alleyene Lett and Ryn Fontenot. Three runners from the Big 10--Keith Hopkins of Purdue, Jeff Porter of Michigan and John Childress of Michigan State--will join Middle Tennessee State senior Juan Walker to round out the field.

Women's 100-meter hurdles

All top five seeds in the women's 100-meter hurdles advanced to the finals. The top seed, Tiffany Ofili of Michigan, ran 13.20 and will be in Lane 4 tomorrow. Three LSU Lady Tigers will join Ofili--sophomore Nickiesha Wilson and juniors Jessica Ohanaja and Angel Boyd. LaNeisha Waller of Illinois, Lorain Price of Indiana, Amber Williams of Ball State and Celriece Law of Tennessee round out the field.

Men's Discus

Two Louisville seniors combined to give the Cardinals 14 key points in their chase of a Mideast Regional championship. Arthur Turland won with a throw of 183-0 (55.79m). John Harper of Kent State placed second, cushioning the Golden Flashes impressive field event point total to 28. Fellow Mid-American Conference competitor Auston Papay of Akron took third. Nick Gretz, a senior from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, took the fifth and final automatic qualifying spot.

Men's 100-meter

Six of the top eight seeds in the men's 100 meter dash advance to the finals. Senior Orlando Reid of Middle Tennessee State will be in Lane 4 tomorrow after qualifying with a 10.31. The nation's fastest runner in 2007, Trindon Holliday of LSU will start in Lane 5. J-Mee Samuels of Arkansas, Evander Wells of Tennessee, Demi Omole of Wisconsin, Rubin Williams of Tennessee, Micheal Coleman of Louisiana Tech and Adam Harris of Michigan round out the field. Williams advanced as the tenth seed and Harris as the 20th seed.

Women's 100-meter

Six of the eight finalists in the women's 100-meter hail from schools in Louisiana. Gloria Asumnu of Tulane grabbed Lane 4 after running an 11.40 into a slight headwind. Sherrry Fletcher, Kelly Ann Baptiste and Samantha Henry of LSU grabbed finalist seeds two, four and six respectively. Louisiana Tech's Latonia Wilson qualified seventh. Two Lady Volunteers--Courtney Champion and Lynne Layne--join the finalists. Tracy Anne Rowe of Auburn is seeded fifth after a 11.64.

Men's 400-meter

Two senior Mississippi State teammates--Arthur Davis and Bruce Davis (no relation)--will try to score key points for the Bulldogs tomorrow in the men's 400-meter final. The two qualified fifth and seventh respectively. Two Southeastern Conference opponents will be seeded first and second. Luis Luna of Kentucky turned in the top time of 46.15 and Siraj Williams of LSU was close behind in 46.30. Wisconsin's James Groce, Southern Mississippi's Cornelius Duncan, Lesiba Masheto of Illinois and Terrill McCombs of Western Kentucky round out the field. Masheto and Duncan came in as the top two Mideast Regional qualifers.

Women's 400-meter

Najah Floyd of Central Michigan is the lone finalist in the women's 400-meter dash who does not represent a Southeastern Conference school; she qualified fourth. Mississippi's Kenyata Coleman took the top seed with a 52.28 followed by Jessica Cousins of Arkansas and Trish Bartholomew. After Floyd, Deonna Lawrence of LSU, Jenna Martin of Kentucky, Tominque Boatright of Arkansas and Latonya Loche of Tennessee round out the finalists.

Men's 800-meter

Hometown favorite and Olympian Derrick Peterson saw his nearly 10-year-old Audrey J. Walton Stadium record fall as Michigan senior Andrew Ellerton ran a 1:47.43 to qualify as the top seed in the men's 800-meter run. Ellerton won the Mideast Regional in 2004 and 2005. Vincent Rono of South Alabama qualified second for the finals after running a 3:45.46 just two hours prior to also grab the two seed in the 1500-meter run. Reuben Twijukye of LSU, Yarrick Kincaid of Tennessee, Thomas Chamney of Notre Dame, Golden Coachmen of Mississippi State, Kurt Heimann of Indiana State and Andrew Dawson of Tennessee round out the field. Chamney was the 2006 Mideast Regional champion. (There are five protests currently awaiting a decision in the men's 800-meter run.)

Women's 800-meter

Two Michigan runners--senior Katie Erdman and sophomore Geena Gall--top the list of women's 800-meter finalists. Erdman's time of 2:01.25 set a Walton and Mideast Regional record. Her performance moved her to the top of the NCAA list, second on the USA Track and Field list and fifth on the world list. Two LSU runners--LaTavia Thomas and Tanya Osburne--join Becky Horn of Western Michigan, Trisa Nickoley of Missouri, Erica Schoeller of Wisconsin and Leander Ernest of Missouri State to round out the field.

Women's Javelin

Lindsey Blaine becomes the third Purdue Boilermaker in a row to win the Mideast Regional Javelin. Her throw of 170-11 (52.09) came in above her season best. Two Arkansas hurlers placed in the top five an advance to nationals. Peter-Gaye Beckford--who also qualified for the finals in the women's long jump and Carly Bloomfield--and Carly Bloomfield scored the Lady Backs first 13 points. Betsy Baldwin of Southeast Louisiana qualified fifth.

Men's 400-meter hurdles

LSU Tiger Isa Phillips and Auburb Tiger Rueben McCoy qualified for the Mideast Regional seeded one-two. They'll advance in the same order tomorrow in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Three high seeds--Balazs Molnar (19th) of Notre Dame, Nathaniel Hughes (21st) of Alcorn State and Eric Alejandro (25th)--made the final eight. Joining those five hurdlers are Paladin Jordan from Indiana State, Kyle Roberts of Mississippi State and Jason Brohow of Western Kentucky.

Women's 400-meter hurdles

Three Illinois women qualified for the finals of the 400-meter hurdles--Carlene Robinson (second), Camile Robinson (fifth) and Briana Cunningham (eighth). The top-seeded Ajoke Odumosu of South Alabama easily won her heat and advances to the finals as the top seed with a time of 57.32. LSU sophomore Nickiesha Wilson, Western Michigan sophomore Danielle Brown, Danielle Gilchrist of Aubrun and Miriam Barnes of Louisiana Tech round out the final eight.

Men's 200-meter

The top five seeds in tomorrow's 200-meter dash finals are all from schools in Tennessee. Rubin Williams of Tennessee earned the top spot with his time of 20.61. Williams was followed by teammate Evander Wells, Middle Tennessee State's Orlando Reid, Chris Howell of Tennessee State and Kyle Stevenson of Tennessee. Other competitors in the field are Jh'Rome Tuggle of Purdue, Michael Coleman of Louisiana Tech and Albert Fullwood of Louisiana Tech. Williams, Wells, Reid and Coleman are all in the 100-meter final as well.

Women's 200-meter

Kerron Stewart of Auburn grabbed the top seed in the women's 200-meter dash final with a time of 22.74. Gloria Asumnu of Tulane, the top seed in women's 100-meter final, will be in Lane 5 next to Stewart. Samantha Henry of LSU, Latonia Wilson of Louisiana Tech, Sherry Fletcher of LSU, Lynne Lane of Tennessee, Elisabeth Slettum of Louisville and Courtney Champion of Tennessee. Five women--Asumnu, Wilson, Fletcher, Layne and Champion--will compete in both the 100- and 200-meter finals.

Women's Long Jump

Four of the women's top five seeded long jumpers finished in the top five and qualified automatically for nationals. Brittney Reese, an Ole Miss sophomore, won the event with a jump of 21-0.75 (6.42m). Southern Mississippi's Tanika Liburd, Toledo's April Williams, Stephanie Tamgho of Middle Tennessee State and Andrea Linton of LSU rounded out the top five.

Men's Long Jump

Tone Belt improved on his second place finish a year ago at the Mideast Regional, beating out 36 other competitors with a jump of 24-10.5 (7.58m). The Louisville sophomore, the NCAA Indoor champion, tied Ole Miss sophomore Justin Gunn, but was awarded the victory based on his second-best jump. Ole Miss senior Charles Bailey, LSU sophomore Jeremy Hicks and Middle Tennessee State senior Juan Walker rounded out the top five. Top-seeded and current NCAA leader O'Darien Bassett of Troy finished 29th.

Men's 5000-meter

Chris Solinksy of Wisconsin came into the Mideast Regional with the top seed in the men's 5000-meter run; he leaves the champion with a run of 14:00.71. South Alabama's Tony Okello came into the regional with the 30th seed; the senior grabbed the fifth and final qualifying spot. The three other qualifiers are Wisconsin's Tim Nelson, Arkansas' James Strang and Notre Dame's Patrick Smith.

Women's 5000-meter

Molly Huddle won her fourth 5000-meter run Mideast Regional, and set new Audrey J. Walton and Mideast Regional records in the process with her run of 16:02.56. Samford's Lauren Blankenship, who entered as a 12th seed, took runner-up honors. Michigan's Erin Webster, Wisconsin's Hanna Grinaker and Tennessee-Chattanooga's round out the top five finishers and automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Sacramento. Rebecca Walter, the 2005 Mideast Regional champion, was slotted to run, but did not show.