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Clemson Men’s Track And Field Earns Fourth Place Finish At NCAA Championships

June 1, 2002

BATON ROUGE, LA – The Clemson men’s track and field team earned its highest finish in the history of the program as the Tigers tied for fourth with 32 points at the 2002 NCAA Track and Field Championships. LSU won the meet with 64 points, Tennessee was the runner-up (57 pts), Southern Methodist finished third (42 pts) and Clemson tied with Florida to finish fourth with 32 points. Previously, the Tigers have finished as high as 10th (1993, 1995, 2000). It is the 13th time that Clemson has finished in the top 25 under current head coach Bob Pollock, and the ninth top-15 finish in the last 15 years.

On the final day of competition, the Tigers were led by redshirt freshman Dwight Thomas and senior Todd Matthews. Thomas claimed two second-place finishes, one in the 100m dash and one in the 200m dash. He recorded a time of 10.29 in the 100m dash, only .07 seconds off the pace of Justin Gatlin, the event winner. Thomas posted a time of 20.60 in the 200m dash, good for another second-place finish. In the 110m hurdles, Matthews recorded another second-place finish for the Tigers. He broke the tape in 13.53, a personal-best time. His performance ranks third on Clemson’s all-time list in that event.

Thomas completes his rookie campaign with four All-America honors. Indoor, he was an All-American in the 60m dash, and followed that with three honors outdoor as a member of the 4x100m relay, as well as in the 100m and 200m dashes. He was also named the ACC Outdoor Performer of the Year in 2002 after winning the 100m, 200m and 110m hurdles at the conference meet.

Matthews earned his third consecutive All-America honor, becoming only the third Tiger to win three consecutive All-America honors in the 110m hurdles. He concludes his collegiate career as a four-time All-American and a three-time ACC Champion.

Clemson juniors Airese Currie earned All-America honors this week as members of the Tigers’ 4x100m relay team that finished second in that event with a school-record time of 38.82. It was the first All-America honor for all three student-athletes.

NCAA Final Standings (top 5) 1. LSU – 64 pts. 2. Tennessee – 57 pts. 3. Southern Methodist – 42 pts. T4. Clemson – 32 pts. Florida – 32 pts.

Complete Clemson Results 100m dash – Dwight Thomas – 2nd (10.29) 200m dash – Dwight Thomas – 2nd (20.60) 110m hurdles – Todd Matthews – 2nd (13.53) 400m dash – Ato Modibo – prelims (46.25) 4x100m relay – Airese Currie, Otto Spain, Dwight Thomas – 2nd (38.82) 4x400m relay – Jacey Harper, Rick Hill, Otto Spain, Ato Modibo – prelims (3:06.30)

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