CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jimmy Elam is starting to make a habit of making good on his final All-America opportunities. Elam, who finished 15th at the National Cross Country Championships to earn All-America honors in the fall – the final cross country race of his collegiate career – raced to a fourth-place finish and another All-America award in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Track & Field Championships Thursday at Johnson C. Smith University’s Irwin Belt Track Complex. If only he could be a senior again next year…
Elam passed UMass-Lowell’s Ruben Sanca with about a lap to go, crossing the line less than a seconD ahead of him in 30:20.27. He finished three seconds out of third and seven out of second. Amos Sang of Abilene Christian broke the tape with a time of 30:04.98 in the race which featured numerous tempo changes and a second half about a minute faster than the first half.
“We’re really enjoying this because Jimmy is one of those athletes who deserves all the success he earns,” said Wildcats Distance Coach Gary Towne. “The great thing about the 10K is that it’s the great equalizer. You can go out and beat people who have more talent or ability if you’re willing to put in the work. Jimmy is one of those guys who brings his lunchbox to work.”
Elam wasn’t lugging around his lunchbox Thursday. He beat the fastest 10,000-meter runner in Division II this year, as well as a number of others expected to finish ahead of him. “He was probably picked to finish eighth from a raw talent standpoint,” said Towne.
Elam credited his preparation as well.
“This is a culmination of the plan we’ve had all year,” said Elam. “I’ve been doing a lot of change-of-pace work for the last few weeks and that allowed me to react to the surges that just kept coming and coming. And the fact that I’ve only really raced hard for times twice all year was also important. I just felt so much fresher than I did last year (when he finished ninth in the 10,000-meter National Championship).”
In Thursday’s only other final, Chico State’s Tori Tyler finished 11th in the women’s 10,000 meters, missing All-America honors and a spot on the podium by three places.
Tyler finished fourth in the 10,000 meters at last year’s national championships, but this year’s field was decidedly tougher. In fact, had Tyler logged the same time she did last year in Friday’s race, it would not have improved her 11th-place finishing position.
She undoubtedly suffered from the illness she battled heading into the meet.
“Tori had been sick the entire week heading into this week and I think it showed tonight,” said Towne. “She missed almost an entire week of running and didn’t really do any workouts the day before we left so we really didn’t know until she got out there today how she would react. She was with the leaders at the midway point, but she just kind of unraveled after that.”
Fortunately, the junior has a chance to put Thursday’s disappointment in her rearview mirror quickly. She’ll compete in a preliminary heat in the 5,000 meters Friday at 4:50 p.m., PDT.
Decathletes J. Patrick Smith and Talor Fulfer are among other Wildcats who will be competing again Friday. But rather than searching for redemption, they’ll be looking to continue the outstanding start to their championships. Smith, the first freshman decathlete to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships in Chico State history, is primed to become the program’s first freshman All-American in the event. He and Talor Fulfer stand in fourth and seventh place, respectively, following five events. The top eight finishers in each event at the NCAA Championships earn All-America honors.
Smith piled up 3,664 points over five events. Fulfer tallied 3,537 points, and senior Jake Nelson, attempting to cap an injury-riddled season with a strong showing at the NCAA Championships, ranks 12th with 3,138 points.
Among Smith’s best results Thursday were a third place finish in the 100-meter dash with a PR of 11.12 seconds, third in the long jump (22-feet-1.5) and a share of third with Fulfer in the high jump (6-3.5). Fulfer also posted a fourth place finish in the long jump with a season-best effort of 21-feet-11.75. Nelson’s top event was the shot put, finishing second with his best heave of the season (41-8.5).
Kelly Clancey is the lone Wildcat competing in the Heptathlon, featuring what’s being called the strongest field in the history of NCAA Division II, and sits in 16th place after the first four events with 2,882 points. Clancey’s top finish was a 10th place showing in the high jump (5-feet-02.25), and despite coming in 15th, posted a season-best time of 26.08 seconds in the 200-meter dash. She’s actually 27 points ahead of her season-best pace recorded at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships.
The Decathlon and Heptathlon will conclude tomorrow.
It was all good news for the Wildcats in preliminary action on the oval as dual-title threat Michael Wickman advanced to the 1,500-meter finals, as did Kara Lubieniecki in the women’s 1,500 meters, and Beau Rogers in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Wickman, named the West Region Track Athlete of the Year earlier this week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), finished second in his 1,500-meter heat Thursday and qualified for the finals with a time of 3:36.57. Wickman will be back on the track Friday for his preliminary 800-meter heat at 3:55 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time. The 1,500-meter final is scheduled for 3:05 p.m., PDT, Saturday. The 800-meter final will go off at 4:46 p.m., PDT, Saturday. He finished third in both events at last year’s NCAA Championships.
Lubieniecki, who took top honors in the women’s 1,500 during the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship, came in third in her heat. Her time of 4:32.24 was less than three-tenths of a second shy of her all-time best performance. The effort served as a bit of redemption for Lubieniecki, who failed to advance out of her heat in the 5,000 meters at last year’s National Championships. She’ll run in the 1,500-meter final Saturday at 3:05 p.m., PDT.
Rogers matched his personal-best time in the steeplechase, recording a time of 8:56.78 in the much faster of two heats. It was his fastest time ever at the National Championships, though he finished fourth in the nation last year. He’ll attempt an even better finish in the final scheduled for Saturday at 2:25 p.m., PDT.
Elam will be back in action in the 5,000-meter preliminaries Friday at 5:35 p.m., PDT, along with teammate Brent Handa.
“I’m going to get an ice bath and good sleep tonight and hopefully I’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” said Elam. “Quite a few guys who did the 10K tonight are racing the 5K tomorrow, so I’m not expecting it to be a super-fast pace. Just like tonight, on paper, there are a lot of guys who will be ranked higher than me, but I’m going into thinking anything can happen.”
Also Friday, Katrina Rodriguez will compete in the pole vault and Ryan Bertucci will go for back-to-back All-America honors in the high jump.
Following is a full schedule of events featuring Chico State athletes for the remainder of the meet:
Friday, May 28
7:00 a.m. – Decathlon: Nelson, Fulfer and Smith (110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1,500 meters).
8:00 a.m. – Heptathlon: Clancey (Long jump, javelin, 800 meters).
2:05 p.m. – Women’s Pole Vault (final): Katrina Rodriguez.
2:10 p.m. – Men’s High Jump (final): Ryan Bertucci.
3:55 p.m. – Men’s 800 meters (prelim): Wickman.
4:50 p.m. – Women’s 5,000 meters (prelim): Tyler.
5:35 p.m. – Men’s 5,000 meters (prelim): Elam and Brent Handa.
Saturday, May 29
2:25 p.m. – Men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (final): Rogers.
2:35 p.m. – Women’s High jump (final): Julianne Conrad.
3:05 p.m. – Women’s 5,000 meters (final): Lubieniecki.
3:15 p.m. – Men’s 1500 meters (final): Wickman.
4:46 p.m. – Men’s 800 meters (final): Wickman.
5:43 p.m. – Women’s 5,00 meters (final): Tyler.
6:03 p.m. – Men’s 5,000 meters (final): Elam and Handa.
For complete results of Thursday's NCAA Track & Field Championships and to
follow the action on Friday and Saturday, go to the following website:
http://www.flashresults.com/2010_Meets/outdoor/ncaa2/
