DES
MOINES – 2008 Olympian and Olympic Trials record holder Kara Patterson
set an American record in the women’s javelin Friday evening at
the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium
on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The
championships will run through Sunday.
The
USA Outdoor Championships are the third stop of the 2010 USATF Outdoor
Visa Championship Series, which concludes July 3 with the Nike
Prefontaine Classic from historic Hayward Field on the campus of the
University of Oregon in Eugene.
Patterson dominates women’s javelin field with American record
Former
Purdue standout and 2009 Big Ten champion Kara Patterson won her second
consecutive U.S. women’s javelin throw title with her final attempt
that soared to 66.67m/218-8, which bettered the previous AR of
64.19m/210-7 set by Kim Kreiner in 2007.
Earlier
in the competition, Patterson twice hurled the spear to the
third-farthest distance in U.S. history, beginning with her third-round
throw of 62.61m/205-5, followed by her toss in the fifth-round of
62.80m/206-0. Patterson’s impressive performance makes her the 13th best performer all-time.
Two-time
NCAA Outdoor champion and 2009 World Outdoor Championships finalist
Rachel Yurkovich was the runner-up to Patterson with a best of
56.31m/184-9, with 2009 USA Champs fourth-place finisher Alicia
deShasier taking third with a toss of 55.53m/182-2.
Felix captures Nike Women’s 100m title
Two-time
Olympic silver medalist and three-time World Outdoor champion in the
200 meters, Allyson Felix won her first U.S. Nike Women’s 100m
championship this evening after taking the lead for good with 40 meters
to go.
Felix
and the rest of the field were hindered by a 2.5 meters-per-second
headwind, with Felix emerging as the convincing winner in 11.27
seconds. Her previous best 100m finish at Nationals was fourth in 2007.
2008 Olympic Trials eighth-place finisher LaShaunte’a Moore was the
runner-up in 11.34, with 2005 World Outdoor long jump champion Tianna
Madison finishing third in 11.43.
Dix wins Visa Men’s 100 Meters
2008
Olympic Games 100m and 200m bronze medalist Walter Dix convincingly won
the first U.S. men’s 100m title of his career with his time of 10.04
seconds, run into a 1.5 mps wind.
Following
the gun the field was even until the 70m mark when Dix, who endured an
injury-plagued season in 2009, found his stride. Dix
continued to gradually lengthen his lead until crossing the finish line
well ahead of runner-up Trell Kimmons, who finished in 10.27. Ivory
Williams was third in 10.29, with Wallace Spearmon fourth in 10.30. One
of the favorites leading up to the final, Travis Padgett, who finished
fourth in this event the last two years, was disqualified due to a
false start.
Fleshman wins highly competitive women’s 5,000m
Two-time
NCAA champion Lauren Fleshman won the second U.S. 5,000m title of her
career when she crossed the finish line first in 15:27.70.
Fleshman,
who first won this event in 2006 and has been ranked in the Top Ten in
the U.S. every year from 2002 to 2008, held off runner-up and four-time
Big East Outdoor champion Molly Huddle (15:30.89) for the win. 2008
Olympic Games and 2009 World Outdoor Championships finalist Jenny
Barringer, who won this event last year, finished third in 15:33.33
Lagat wins Nike Men’s 5,000m
A
slow pace set the table perfectly for kicker supreme Bernard Lagat, who
captured the fourth U.S. Outdoor 5,000m title of his glorious career.
Lagat
was in second place when he turned on the afterburners and grabbed the
lead with 70 meters remaining in the race. 10,000m specialist Tim
Nelson gave chase down the main straightaway but was unable to catch
Lagat, who crossed the finish line first in 13:54.08. Nelson finished
second after a gallant effort in 13:54.80, with seven-time NCAA
All-American Andrew Bumbalough of Georgetown, who placed third at the
2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing third in 13:55.16.
Patience pays off for Bell
Two-time
Olympian Kenta Bell has been trying for seven years to win his second
career U.S. men’s outdoor triple jump crown and his wait is finally
over.
Bell
captured his first national championship since 2003 when he soared to
17.02m/55-10.25 (+2.0 mps) on his third attempt. Since winning his
first U.S. crown, Bell has finished second three times and third on two
occasions. 2010 NCAA Outdoor champ Christian
Taylor of the University of Florida was the runner-up with a best of
16.76m/55-0, with Lawrence Willis finishing third at 16.69m/54-9.25.
Malone wins again in men’s discus
It
took 12 years for two-time Olympian Casey Malone to win his first U.S.
title in the men’s discus, and now winning this event has become
routine.
Malone
won his second consecutive national championship with his third-round
throw of 62.57m/205-3. The fifth-place finisher at the 2009 World
Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Malone finished just ahead of Texas
Tech strength coach and current U.S. leader (#2 in the world) Jason
Young, who had a best throw of 61.15m/200-7. Young’s second-place
performance at Nationals is the best of his career.
Freeman wins first hammer title
Jake
Freeman won his first career national hammer throw championship after
11 years of trying with his second attempt toss in the final of
76.51m/251-0. Freeman, who finished as the runner-up in this event in
2005 and 2009, finished ahead of runner-up and 2007 World Outdoor
Championships team member Kibwe Johnson, who posted a best of
76.31m/250-4.
Former
Mountain West Conference champion Andrew Lofton finished third
(75.42m/247-5), with two-time Olympian and four-time USA Outdoor
champion A.G. Kruger fourth (73.90m/242-5).
Hollis wins Gill Men’s Pole Vault
Two-time
NAIA champion Mark Hollis captured his first national Gill Men’s Pole
Vault title this evening with his winning clearance of 5.60m/18-4.50,
which is the identical height he conquered in winning the 2010 Millrose
Games in New York City.
Finishing
as the runner-up was 2008 Olympic Games fourth-place finisher Derek
Miles, who had a best clearance of 5.60m/18-4.50. Jason Colwick
finished third at 5.50m/18-0.50.
Pappas, Fountain lead combined events competitions
Five-time
national champion and 2003 world champion Tom Pappas leads the men’s
decathlon after the first day of competition. Pappas’ second-best shot
put throw of his career of 16.87m/55-4.25 helped propel him to the lead
with 4,234 points, with Trinity Otto of Texas A&M in second place
with 4,152 points.
2008
Olympic Games silver medalist Hyleas Fountain holds a commanding lead
after Day 1 of the 24 Hour Fitness Women’s Heptathlon. Fountain posted
a personal best in the high jump of 1.90m/6-2.75 en route to a total of
4,068 points. 2009 USA Champs third-place finisher Bettie Wade is in
second place with 3,603 points.
Stadium records set in 800m qualifying
2007
World Outdoor Championships team member Duane Solomon led all men’s
800m semi-final qualifiers with his Drake Stadium record time of
1:45.23, which bettered the previous standard of 1:45.31 set by Jacob
Hernandez in 2008.
In
Nike Women’s 800m semi-final action, 2007 USA Outdoor champion Alysia
Johnson set the Drake Stadium record of 1:59.43, which improved greatly
upon the previous standard of 2:01.68 by Suzy Favor Hamilton in 1998.
Top Qualifiers:
The following athletes posted the top performances in their respective events in qualifying competition.
Men’s 400m – 2009 USA Junior champion Tavaris Tate – 45.00
Visa Men’s 1,500m – 2008 Olympic Games & 2009 World Outdoor Champs 5,000m finalist Matt Tegenkamp – 3:39.57
Hershey Men’s 400m Hurdles – 2008 Olympic Games and 2009 World Outdoor Champs bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson – 48.36
Men’s 3,000m steeplechase – 2009 USA Outdoor Champs runner-up Dan Huling – 8:40.85
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