Clemson Travels Nine Athletes to College Station for NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

March 9, 2011

NCAA Championships Primer The Clemson track & field teams will travel to College Station, TX this weekend to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The meet will be held at Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.

Live streaming of the event will be available as follows: Friday, March 11 from 10:00 AM – 3:55 PM on NCAA.com & AggieAthletics.com and from 3:55 PM – 8:00 PM on ESPN3.com. Saturday’s coverage will be available from 12:00 PM – 4:55 PM on NCAA.com & AggieAthletics.com and from 5:00 PM – 7:50 PM on ESPN3.com. The event will air on a tape delay on Wednesday, March 16 from 2:30 – 4:30 PM on ESPN2.

Clemson will travel a total of nine student-athletes, six women and three men. The Tiger women enter the meet with a No. 10 national rating, while the men are No. 23 in the latest USTFCCCA calculations.

The last time the national indoor meet was held at Texas A&M’s facility was in 2009. Jacoby Ford, now a standout wide receiver for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, won the men’s 60m dash national title to headline Clemson’s efforts.

Women Earn Second Straight ACC Title Clemson’s women’s track & field team won its second straight ACC indoor championship on Feb. 26. It was only the third overall indoor team championship at the ACC level for the Clemson women, but the third straight track & field crown overall (counting 2010 outdoor season).

Four individuals won ACC championships, while Clemson once again captured the 4×400 meter relay to conclude the meet. The Tigers finished with 152 points, compared to 100.5 for runner-up Florida State.

Clemson in National Computer Ratings The Clemson women’s team has been rated among the nation’s top 25 every week this season, including a high position of No. 4 for three straight weeks. The women were No. 5 in the preseason, but then moved up a spot in the Jan. 25 rating. The team fell to No. 15 in the ratings a week ago, but Clemson rebounded to move back into the top 10 in ninth on March 1 following the school’s ACC championship.

The men’s team debuted at No. 23 in the Feb. 15 USTFCCCA computer list, its first top-25 showing of the season. It spent two weeks at No. 25 before moving up to 23rd in the latest calculations.

Weekly USTFCCCA Indoor Team RatingsDate Men Women Jan. 6 (preseason) NR 5th Jan. 25 NR 4th Feb. 1 NR 4th Feb. 8 NR 4th Feb. 15 23rd 15th Feb. 22 25th 15th Mar. 1 25th 9th Mar. 8 23rd 10th

Moss Leads NCAA in the Heptathlon Clemson graduate Miller Moss is on a mission this season. The Sumter, SC native is atop the national heptathlon standings heading into the NCAA championship meet.

Moss shattered his own school record with a total of 5,903 points en route to winning the JRF Combined Events Invitational on Jan. 29. In the process, he established personal bests in the 60m dash (6.93), 60m hurdles (7.99), high jump (6’7″) and long jump (23’11.75″).

Moss didn’t break his personal best, but he was close as he tallied 5,881 points to win his first-ever ACC individual title in the heptathlon on Feb. 25. His best event was the high jump, where he cleared 6’8″ to finish strong on day one. A versatile athlete, he showed his team mentality by helping the 4x400m relay to its first ACC crown since the 2001 season.

Clemson’s best NCAA finisher in the heptathlon was Ryan Koontz, who placed seventh in 2007 with a total of 5,569 points.

Taking the Nation by Storm Clemson has a budding superstar on its hands in sophomore Stormy Kendrick. The native of Gastonia, NC owns the nation’s third-best time in the 60m dash. She auto qualified in the event for the NCAA Championships when she clocked a Clemson record and personal best 7.22 to win at the Hokie Invitational.

Kendrick is 5-for-5 this season in running the 60m dash. In fact, her only loss at all in the event was in the preliminary round at the Hokie Invitational. Her latest performance was a time of 7.28 and an individual championship at the ACC meet in the 60.

She also owns one of the nation’s 20 best times in the 200m dash. Kendrick was an IAAF World Junior Champion last summer in the event outdoors and clocked an indoor-best 23.29 (No. 2 in Clemson history) in a runner-up finish at ACCs. Kendrick also helped the 4x400m relay to an ACC crown. At the conclusion of the meet, she was named Most Valuable Indoor Track Performer for her efforts.

Kendrick’s victory was the seventh overall in either the 55m or 60m dash, and she was the fourth different Tiger female to claim a conference crown in the event.

Tomlinson was the only Tiger to win the event since it was extended to 60 meters, so Kendrick was Clemson’s first female short sprint ACC indoor champion since 1998.