Four Men’s Track And Field Student-Athletes To Compete At NCAA Championships

March 10, 2004

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Four members of the Clemson men’s track and field team will compete at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held Mar. 12-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, AR. Roy Cheney, George Kitchens and Adam Linkenauger have each recorded marks accepted for the national meet in the 60m hurdles, heptathlon, long jump and high jump, respectively.

Sophomore Roy Cheney recorded a season-best time of 7.79 at the Clemson Classic to move into a tie for fourth on Clemson’s all-time list in the event and qualify for the NCAA Championships. He enters the NCAA Championships with the 13th-fastest time in 2004. This will be his second appearance at the Indoor Championships, as he earned All-America honors as a freshman in the 4x400m relay a year ago. He is the third Clemson Tiger to advance to the NCAA Championships in the 60m hurdles. Todd Matthews and Sultan Tucker have each competed for the Tigers at the NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors. Tucker holds the highest finish by a Tiger in the 60m hurdles, with a third-place finish in 2001. Prior to 1999, the 55m hurdles were contested. Nine Clemson student-athletes earned All-America accolades in that event between 1991 and 1998.

A senior from Chapel Hill, NC, Rick Hill will represent Clemson in the inaugural NCAA heptathlon event. He has the 10th-best point total entering the NCAA Championships. Hill automatically qualified in the heptathlon at the ACC Championships with 5,528 points, setting the ACC and Clemson record. He won four of the seven events in the ACC heptathlon. Despite this being his first trip to Fayetteville, Hill is no stranger to the NCAA Championships, as he competed in the 4x400m relay outdoor in 2002 and in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2003. Hill’s career-best marks in the heptathlon are as follows: 60m dash – 7.05; long jump – 21’8.75″; shot put – 47’0.75″; high jump – 6’3.25″; 60m hurdles – 8.10; pole vault – 14’9″; 1000m run – 2:41.48.

George Kitchens is making history in his first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The junior from Hephzibah, GA, is the first Tiger long jumper to advance to the NCAA Championships and has the 13th-best mark in the nation entering the meet. Kitchens posted a mark of 25’4″ at the Iowa State Last Chance Meet, setting the Clemson record in the event. He was an All-American in the long jump at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing 10th with a mark of 24’9.75″.

Adam Linkenauger, a freshman from Fincastle, VA, will compete in the high jump. He enters the NCAA Championships tied for the 12th-best mark this season. Linkenauger ranks fifth on the Tigers’ all-time list in the high jump indoor, clearing 7’2.25″ at the ACC Championships to win the event. He was honored as the ACC Freshman of the Year for his performance at the conference meet. Linkenauger is the sixth Tiger since 1985 to compete in the high jump at the NCAA Championships, and the fourth Clemson high jumper to advance to the NCAA Championships under the tutelage of assistant coach Jarrett Foster. Most recently, Terrance McDaniel earned All-America honors in 2003 with a sixth-place finish. Former Tiger Doug Ameigh holds Clemson’s best finish in the high jump, clearing 7’2.5″ for fourth place in 2002. Prior to Ameigh, Malcolm Reynolds earned All-America honors in 2001, John Thorp competed at the NCAA Championships in 1993 and was an All-American in 1995, and Victor Smalls was the first Tiger high jump All-American, earning the accolade in 1985.

Under head coach Bob Pollock, the Tigers have won 11 of their 12 ACC Indoor Championships and have claimed 69 individual or relay conference championships. Pollock has received nine ACC Indoor Coach of the Year honors, more than any other ACC coach since 1987. One of his greatest honors was bestowed in 1992 when he was named the National Indoor Coach of the Year after Clemson finished second at the NCAA Championships. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Tigers have finished in the top 10 six times under Pollock, including two second-place finishes (1992, 1993) and two third-place finishes (1998, 1999). Clemson has also had 72 athletes earn NCAA All-America honors indoors during Pollock’s tenure.