NCAA DI 2010 Track and Field Division I Outdoor Track Championships

East Preliminary Round Preview 

Sprints

ASHEVILLE, NC - Division I Outdoor  Track East Preliminary Round is slated to begin Thursday morning with the women's javelin at 10:00am. The meet will conclude Saturday night with the 1,600-meter relay. The championships will be held at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T in Greensboro for the second consecutive season.  

There has been a lot of controversy about the new ncaa regional qualifying format. In the past, there  have been set standards by the NCAA. Four regional meets were conducted over a two day period. This year the NCAA will try something new. Instead of the four regional meets in two days, they have split the meet into two separate  regions and added an extra day of competition.  The top 48 athletes in each event  from each region qualify. Top 12 finishers from the regional meet advance to the national meet in Eugene, Oregon. The East Regional  site will feature colleges and universities east of the Mississippi River.    

100: Who will step up to challenge Florida’s  two-sport star  Jeff Demps? He has been unbeatable so far this season. Demps has turned in the fastest time in the country this year at 10.06. He is making his first regional appearance, after suffering a hamstring injury at last years SEC championships . Demps  won the 60-meter dash national title during indoors with a time of 6.57.  If contested by anyone it would be Auburn’s Marcus Rowland. Rowland turned in a wind-aided time of 10.03 at the Auburn Track Classic back in April. Also keep an out for Maurice Mitchell of Florida State. He has ran a wind-aided time of 10.11 this season. 

On the women’s side, the event winner is more unpredictable. LSU’s Samantha Henry has recorded the second fastest time in the country this year at 11.18. However, Auburn’s Shaniqua Ferguson ran the third fastest time in the country this year  at 11.19, to capture the SEC title over Henry. Florida State’s Marecia Pemberton is also in clear contention for the East title. Pemberton turned in a wind-aided time of 11.12 at the ACC championships. 

200: Florida State’s Brandon Bynum and Maurice Mitchell will look to continue to carry the Seminoles  on their  back.  Florida  State sprints coach Ken Harden took a huge blow this outdoor season when he learned that he would be without the presence of his 200 meter NCAA Champion, Charles Clark. Clark tore his quadriceps muscle in practice just before ACC’s. Clark will  be granted a medical redshirt and be listed as a redshirt senior next year. Bynum and Mitchell have kept their schools’ sprint legacy alive so far this season. Bynum who has turned in a seasons best of  20.40, was the indoor national runner up at 200-meters. Mitchell turned in a wind-aided time of 20.25 at the ACC Championships . Also keep an out for Evander Wells of Tennessee (20.45w) and Kentucky’s Rondel Sorrillo (20.54).

200: For the women,  Hampton’s Francena McCorory has posted the fastest time in the East, but has opted  to compete in just the 400-meters. At the top of the list sits SEC rivals. LSU’s Samantha Henry and Kimberlyn Duncan have turned in wind-aided times of 22.94 and 22.96 respectively. Auburn’s Shaniqua Ferguson and Nivea Smith have both turned in a 23.08 this season. Look for these four to battle it out along  with Penn’s Shavon Greaves. Greaves has turned in a seasons best of 23.07. 

400: Now for the quarter horses: The men’s 400-meters looks to  be the premiere event of the whole  entire meet. Florida’s Clavin Smith headlines the list of competitors. He turned in a career best of 44.81 at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational back in  April to beat Olympian Tyson Gay. Just behind him is Mississippi State’s Tarvis Tate. Tate turned in a seasons best of 44.86 at the Alabama Relays back in March. However, both Tate and Smith times were thrown out the window at SEC’s when they step on the line with 17-year old  Kirani James of Alabama. James a native of Grenadian turned in a personal best of 45.01 at the SEC meet. He has track fans on the edge of their chair, waiting to see what’s to come later down the road. James was also the indoor national runner-up in this event to Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence. Lawrence who has been hampered  by a hip flexior injury all outdoor will miss regional’s in the quarter. 

400:  Hampton’s Francena McCorory is not seeded at the top of the east list, but I would not put first place past her. The indoor national champion and American record holder  in this event has only ran 53.39 this outdoors. At the Florida Relays she turned in a 22.92 at 200-meters. Auburn’s Joanna Atkins leads the list of competitors based on time. Atkins recorded a 52.03 at the SEC championships.  Also keep an out for South Carolina’s Brandi Cross (52.54) and Indiana State’s Erica Moore (52.60).