Padgett, Greeley Lead Tigers at NCAA Outdoor Championships

June 9, 2007

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Clemson men’s track & field team concluded its 2007 outdoor season Friday at the NCAA Championships at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex. The Tigers finished with 12 points and five different student-athletes earned All-America honors. Clemson’s team finish will be determined when the meet concludes Saturday.

Travis Padgett once again headlined the Tigers’ efforts. The sophomore earned his second consecutive All-America honor in the 100m dash. He clocked a time of 10.09, his second-best time this season, and finished in third place. He was fourth a year ago as a freshman in the event. Padgett is just the fifth men’s track & field athlete from Clemson to earn multiple All-America certificates in the 100m dash. James Trapp (1990,91,92), Michael Green (1991,93), Carlton Chambers (1996,97), and Shawn Crawford (1998,2000) all achieved the distinction.

Padgett also earned All-America honors with the 4x100m relay team. He led the group to a seventh-place finish with a time of 40.07 seconds. Earning All-America accolades for the first time in a Tiger uniform with Padgett were C.J. Spiller. It was Clemson’s first top-eight finish in the event since 2002 and the program’s 10th overall.

Mitch Greeley earned his first outdoor All-America certificate and second overall in the pole vault. A 2006 indoor All-American, Greeley cleared 17’6.5″ and finished in a tie for fourth place. The junior from Rock Hill, SC did not miss a jump on his first three bars before falling short on three attempts at 17’10.5″. He became the first outdoor All-American in Clemson history with his performance Friday. He was also the first All-American for the Tiger program in the indoor pole vault.

Matt Clark competed in the 5000m final Friday evening and was 16th overall. The red-shirt junior from Hyannis, MA was competing in his first-ever NCAA national meet in track. He previously competed at the NCAA cross country meet in 2005. Clark posted a time of 14:23.88, a solid improvement over his preliminary time.