June 9, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - John Paul Smolenski was the lone Boilermaker to advance to the championship round of their respective event, after posting a fifth-place toss of 65.07 meters (213 feet, 6 inches) in the hammer throw. He next competes Friday at 2 p.m. PST.
Smolenski placed his first two attempts well past the 60-meter mark, but was forced to halt his third windup due to wet conditions. The senior tried to mop up the ring's excess water with a hand towel prior to his last toss, but fouled instead of receiving an improved mark of about 66 meters.
Virginia Tech's Spyridon Jullien registered the best throw of prelims with his launch of 71.02 (233-00), a distance which was about five meters better than runner-up Nick Owens' mark of 66.54 (218-04). The group of 12 finalists for Friday's championship also includes Mattias Jons, Garland Porter, Geoff Fong, Adam Trainor, Jake Dunkleberger, Zack Schaefer, Brian Richotte, Cory Martin and Adam Midles.
Also battling the elements late into the night were javelin throwers Kara Patterson and Lindsey Blaine. Unfortunately, neither performer met their expectations, as Patterson just missed qualifying for finals with her 13th-place launch of 153-10, and Blaine topped out at 140-11.
Sophomore Rickey Pinkney failed to advance to the semfinals of the 110-meter high hurdles following his 25th-place prelim time of 14.20. Pinkney entered this week's meet seeded 28th of 28 competitors, with a season-best time of 14.10, which he posted at the Clemson Relays.
Senior Kenneth Baxter was stopped in the semifinals of the 100-meter dash with his seventh-place heat time of 10.52., which was .10 seconds slower than his prelim time of 10.42. A three-time All-American, Baxter is slated to compete in the 200-meter dash qualifier Thursday afternoon.
Joining Baxter in tomorrow's competitions are Derek Watkins in the high jump and Courtney Magnuson in the hammer throw. Live results can be accessed through ncaasports.com.