Clemson Men’s Track And Field Qualifies Three For NCAA Championships

May 28, 2004

GAINESVILLE, FL – After the first day of competition at the 2004 NCAA East Region Championships, the Clemson men’s track and field team is second in team standings and three Tigers have qualified for the NCAA Championships. Adam Linkenauger, George Kitchens will compete at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships to be held June 9-12 in Austin, TX. Clemson, which finished fourth at the 2003 East Region Championships, accumulated 23 points in the first five events to trail the University of Florida by one point and one half. Nine Tigers have qualified for Saturday’s finals in their respective events.

In the first event of the day for the Tiger track and field team, Adam Linkenauger and Terrance McDaniel qualified for the NCAA Championships as they tied for second place in the high jump. Linkenauger and McDaniel both cleared 6’11” on their first attempts, but could not clear the next bar. This marks the first time since the 1975 outdoor season that two Tigers have advanced to the NCAA Championships in the high jump in the same year. That year, Ed Fern and Shane Stroup represented Clemson in Provo, UT.

The Tigers’ 4x100m relay team won its section to automatically advance to Saturday’s finals. The Clemson quartet of Tye Hill, Ronald Richards and Airese Currie crossed the finish line in 40.03 to enter Saturday’s finals with the third-fastest time of the trials. This is the second consecutive year that the Tigers’ 4x100m relay team has advanced to the East Region finals.

George Kitchens became the first Tiger to advance to the NCAA Championships from the region meet two years in a row. Kitchens, who was the 2003 East Region champion in the long jump, finished second on Friday with a mark of 24’10.5″.

In the 110m hurdles, freshman Lydell Perry clocked a personal-best time of 13.82 to qualify for Saturday’s finals. Brent Hobbs ran a 14.27 and Roy Cheney finished in 14.34 in the preliminaries.

Michael Bolling narrowly missed the cut for the finals of the 400m dash, recording a time of 47.09. Marquis Andrews also competed in the preliminaries of the 400m dash, finishing in 48.10.

Four Tigers competed in the preliminaries of the 100m dash. Tye Hill captured his flight with a personal-best time of 10.20 to automatically advance to the finals. Ronald Richards recorded a time of 10.57. Airese Currie crossed the finish line in 10.60.

Derek Gilson scored for the Tigers in the shot put, recording a season-best mark of 58’3.75″ to place eighth. Matt Lombardi finished 13th overall with his mark of 55’11.25″.

In the preliminaries of the 400m hurdles, Roy Cheney, who suffered a foot injury earlier in the day, crossed the finish line in 52.62.

In the final event of the day for the Tigers, Tye Hill qualified for Saturday’s finals of the 200m with a time of 21.01. Ronald Richards posted a season-best time of 21.14 and Airese Currie recorded a time of 21.58.

Clemson student-athletes will compete in nine finals on Saturday. Tye Hill will compete in the 100m and 200m and as a member of the 4x100m relay. In the 110m hurdles, Lydell Perry will represent Clemson and Scott Kautz will contest the 400m hurdles. Ryan Fenton will become the second Tiger to compete in the 3000m steeplechase at the region meet and the Tigers’ 4x400m relay will compete for a spot at the national meet. In the field events, Jason Bell will represent the Tigers in the triple jump and Adam Klotzbach will compete in the pole vault.

Complete Clemson Results 100m dash trials – Tye Hill (q) – 10.20; Ronald Richards (p) – 10.57 ; Airese Currie (p) – 10.60 200m dash trials – Tye Hill (q) – 21.01; Ronald Richards (p) – 21.14; Airese Currie (p) – 21.58 400m dash trials – Michael Bolling (p) – 47.09 ; Marquis Andrews (p) – 48.10 110m hurdles trials – Lydell Perry (q) – 13.82; Brent Hobbs (p) – 14.27; Roy Cheney (p) – 14.34 400m hurdles trials – Roy Cheney (p) – 52.62 4x100m Relay Trials – Griffin, Hill, Richards, Currie (q) – 40.03 High jump – Adam Linkenauger (T2) – 2.11m/6’11”; Terrance McDaniel (T2) – 2.11m/6’11” Long jump – George Kitchens (2) – 7.58m/24’10.5″ Shot put – Derek Gilson (8) – 17.77m/58’3.75″ ; Matt Lombardi (13) – 17.05m/55’11.25″