Track and Field Squads Compete at NCAA Championships

June 7, 1999

Fourteen athletes represented Clemson at the 1999 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Boise, Idaho. The men’s team placed 19th with 13 points, while the women’s team finished in a tie for 41st place with seven points.

The two teams combined for 14 All-America citations at this season’s meet. The men earned eight All-America honors, just two shy of the previous Clemson record of 10 honors in one outdoor season. The top eight finishers in each event are All-Americans.

Freshman Ato Modibo placed fifth with a time of 45.37 in the 400m. The time was just .04 off his personal-best. Modibo placed second in his heat with a time of 45.66 in the semifinals to qualify for the final race.

Junior Shawn Crawford finished sixth after posting a time of 20.75 in the finals of the 200m. Crawford was second in his heat at 20.63 in the preliminaries and qualified for the finals after placing third with a time of 20.71 in the semifinals.

Senior Davidson Gill was eighth at 1:49.95 in the 800m. He placed eighth in the semifinals with a time of 1:49.91 to make the finals.

Freshman Kai Maull placed eighth in the long jump competition after entering the meet with the 17th-best jump. He posted a personal-best jump of 25’7 1/4″ in the preliminaries to advance to the finals.

The 4x100m relay team of Charles Allen, Kenny Franklin, Anthony Moorman and Shawn Crawford placed fifth with a time of 39.63. The team made the finals with a time of 39.73.

In the 110m hurdles, sophomore Sultan Tucker posted a time of 14.30 in the preliminaries after pulling a muscle coming off the last hurdle. Freshman Todd Matthews slipped coming out of the blocks and recorded a time of 14.16 in the event. Both athletes failed to advance to the semifinals.

The 4x400m relay team of Allen, Franklin, Gill and Modibo won its heat of the semifinals in 3:05.05. The team did not finish the final race because of an injury.

The women’s team had six All-America awards. Senior Nikkie Bouyer placed sixth with a time of 57.74 in the 400m hurdles, an event she began just a month prior to the championships. She won her heat in the semifinals with a time of 57.55.

Junior Shekera Weston was seventh at 23.23 in the 200m. She placed fourth with a time of 23.51 in her heat of the preliminaries, then advanced to the finals after posting a personal-best wind-aided time of 22.91 in the semifinals.

The 4x100m relay team of Simone Brown, Weston, Lashonda Cutchin and Bouyer finished seventh with a time of 44.63. The team was third with a time of 44.35, just .01 off Clemson’s best time of the season, in the semifinals.

The same four athletes made up the 4x400m relay team that posted a time of 3:37.27 in the semifinals but did not advance to the finals.

CLEMSON TAKES ACC HONORS Clemson’s Ron Garner was named ACC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year and Tiger freshman Erin Nett earned freshman of the year, as voted on by the nine ACC coaches after the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Garner received his first ACC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Tigers to the 1999 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Title. Clemson finished the meet with 91 points and snapped the North Carolina streak of seven consecutive championship titles. This was Clemson’s second women’s outdoor title, the last one won in 1991.

Clemson pole vaulter Erin Nett received ACC Outdoor Freshman of the Year honors after setting a new conference pole vault record with a personal-best vault of 12′ 1/2″. The vault qualified the Bel Air, MD, native provisionally for the NCAA Championships.

Tiger Ato Modibo received the inaugural ACC Men’s Outdoor Freshman of the Year honor after an impressive first place time of 45.51 in the 400 meter dash. Modibo also anchored the 4×400 meter relay which placed third and finished fourth overall with a time of 20.79 in the 200 meter dash. The Tiger freshman from Beltsville, MD, recorded two NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 200 meters and 400 meters.

TIGER ATHLETES AMONG NATION’S LEADERS Several Clemson athletes ranked among the nation’s leaders this season. Freshman Ato Modibo tied for the fifth-fastest time in the nation in the 400m after winning the event with an automatic qualifying time of 45.33 at the Clemson Invitational. Junior Shawn Crawford tied for fourth nationally after winning the 200m and setting a new track record with an automatic qualifying time of 20.39 at the Orange & Purple Classic.

Two Tigers ranked among the top 10 nationally in the 110m high hurdles. Sophomore Sultan Tucker ranked fifth after running a time of 13.73 in the event at Texas A&M. Freshman Todd Matthews was the second-best freshman nationally and ranked tenth overall after winning the Orange & Purple Classic with a time of 13.75 in the 110 hurdles.

Davidson Gill ranked fifth nationally after running an automatic qualifying time of 1:47.03, the second-fastest time in Clemson history, in the 800m at Texas A&M. Freshman Kai Maull was tied for 17th nationally with a long jump of 25’4, a personal-best that he recorded at Texas A&M.

The 4x400m relay team of Allen, Franklin, Gill and Modibo held the fifth-best time in the nation at 3:03.67. The Clemson men’s 4x100m relay team of Allen, Franklin, Crawford and Modibo ranked ninth nationally after placing second with a provisional qualifying time of 39.44 at the Clemson Invitational.

For the Clemson women’s team, senior Nikkie Bouyer was sixth nationally after running 56.64 in the 400m intermediate hurdles at the Orange & Purple Classic. Junior Shekera Weston ranked 17th nationally after recording a time of 23.26 in the 200m at the ACC Championships.

The Clemson women’s 4x100m relay team of Simone Brown, Weston, Shonda Cutchin and Bouyer ranked tenth nationally after winning the event with a provisional time of 44.34 at the Georgia Tech Invitational on May 22. The same athletes made up theTigers’ 4x400m relay team that ranked 14th in the nation after running the event in 3:36.25 at Georgia Tech.

Kenny Franklin ranked 31st nationally after recording a time of 46.09 in the 400m at the ACC Championships. Joe Gibson ran a provisional time of 14:09.71 in the 5,000m at Stanford.

Senior Julianne Littmann became Clemson’s first women’s track athlete to provisionally qualify for nationals in the 1500m since 1992. She placed fifth with a time of 4:23.50 in the 1500m at the Stanford Invitational.

In the field events, sophomore Jamine Moton was 27th nationally in the discus after winning the Penn Relays with a throw of 170’2″. She ranked 23rd in the shot put after winning the ACC Championship with a throw of 50’3 3/4″. Her throw of 181’7″ in the hammer ranked 39th nationally.

MEN’S NOTES FROM THE 1999 SEASON

Freshman Todd Matthews shared the ACC Outdoor Track Performerof the Week award for March 22 with Virginia’s Brian Kollar. He wonthe 110 high hurdles with a provisional time of 13.90 at theClemson Relays. Matthews was honored with the Pearcy Beard Award atthe Florida Relays, given annually to the top hurdler at the meet.He won the collegiate 110 high hurdles with a NCAA provisional timeof 13.87 and won the invitational 110 high hurdles in 14.02.Matthews, along with Sultan Tucker, Tony Washington and Ian Potter,ran on the shuttle hurdle relay team that won first place in 56.33.At the Clemson Invitational, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Nebraska andSouth Carolina combined for four NCAA automatic qualifyingperformances, 11 provisional qualifying performances and two RockNorman Track Records. Also at the Clemson Invitational, juniorShawn Crawford won the 200m and set a new track record with an NCAAautomatic qualifying time of 20.41. The old record of 20.61 was setby James Trapp in 1990. Freshman Ato Modibo won the 400m at themeet with an automatic qualifying time of 45.33. His time is thesecond-fastest time in Clemson history. The 4x400m relay team ofCharles Allen, Kenny Franklin, Davidson Gill and Ato Modibo set anew Clemson record with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of3:03.67 at the Sea Ray Relays. The old record of 3:03.76 was set in1996 by Gill, Aaron Haynes, Shawn Thomas and Tony Wheeler. TheClemson men’s track and field team placed second behind NorthCarolina at the ACC Championships in Clemson. North Carolina wonthe championship with 178 points, followed by Clemson with 157.5points. The two teams have combined to win 10 out of the last 11ACC Outdoor Championships. Two Tiger freshmen and one sophomore wonACC titles at the meet. Freshman Ato Modibo won the 400m with aprovisional qualifying time of 45.51, and fellow rookie Doug Ameighwon the high jump crown with a height of 7’1″. Sophomore SultanTucker placed first in the 110m hurdles, turning in a provisionalqualifying performance of 13.82. The men’s 4x100m relay team ofCharles Allen, Kenny Franklin, Anthony Moorman and Shawn Crawfordwon the Championship of America competition at the Penn Relays withan NCAA qualifying time of 39.48. Crawford, Franklin, Ato Modiboand Davidson Gill posted a time of 3:18.23 to win the Championshipof America sprint medley relay. Senior Davidson Gill placed secondwith an NCAA Automatic Qualifying time of 1:47.03 to lead theClemson track and field team at Texas A&M. His time was thesecond-fastest 800m time in Clemson history and was just .65 offthe Tiger record of 1:46.28 set by Terrance Herrington in 1988.Senior Joe Gibson competed at the Stanford Invitational inStanford, CA. He placed 15th among all collegiate runners with anNCAA Provisional Qualifying time of 14:09.71 in the 5,000m. Thetime was 15 seconds better than his previous personal-best. JuniorShawn Crawford won the 200m at the Orange & Purple Classic withan NCAA Automatic Qualifying time of 20.39, a new Rock Norman trackrecord. Crawford set the old record of 20.41 earlier in the season.The shuttle hurdle relay team of Sultan Tucker, Tony Washington,Todd Matthews and Ian Potter ran a time of 55.90 at the meet, thefastest time in the nation.

WOMEN’S NOTES FROM THE 1999 SEASON

At the Florida Relays, the Tiger 4x200m relay team of TerriRobinson, Shekera Weston, Shonda Cutchin and Nikkie Bouyer set anew meet and Clemson record and placed first with a time of1:33.61, the fastest time in the nation at that point of theseason. The old Clemson record of 1:34.50 was set in 1991 by LisaDillard, Anita Henderson, Angel Fleetwood and Kim Graham…The samefour athletes made up the 4x100m relay team that won their eventwith a provisional qualifying time of 44.68 at the same meet.Senior Nikkie Bouyer won the 100m high hurdles with an NCAAprovisional qualifying time of 13.46 at the Florida Relays.Sophomore Jamine Moton placed second and set a new Clemson recordwith a throw of 181’7″ in the hammer competition at the FloridaRelays. The old record of 156′ was set by Ann Marie McAuley lastyear. At the Clemson Invitational, the Tiger 4x100m relay team ofRobinson, Weston, Cutchin and Bouyer placed second with aprovisional qualifying time of 44.53. The Clemson women’s trackteam won the U.S. Collegiate Track & Field Series Meet at UNCCharlotte on April 10. The Tigers scored 222 points, followed byUNC Charlotte with 149 points. Connecticut was third with 114points, and Virginia Commonwealth placed fourth with 110 points.Clemson took first place in 12 events. Sophomore Jamine Moton wonthe shot put and the discus events to lead the Clemson women’s teamto the 1999 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championship. The win wasonly Clemson’s second ACC Championship in women’s outdoor track.The Tigers’ other championship came in 1991, when current headcoach Ron Garner was an assistant for the Tigers. Clemson’schampionship ended North Carolina’s string of seven consecutiveconference crowns. Moton won the shot put for the secondconsecutive season, recording a provisional qualifying mark of 50’31/4″. She won the discus with a throw of 163’5″, defeatingthree-time champion Amy Brown of Virginia. Freshman Erin Nett wonthe pole vault with a provisional mark and personal best of12’1/2″, to set a new ACC record. The Tigers’ 4x100m relay team ofTerri Robinson, Shekera Weston, Lashonda Cutchin and Nikkie Bouyerwon the ACC title with a provisional time of 45.07. SophomoreJamine Moton won the discus with a provisional qualifying mark of170’2″ and placed third in the shot put with a provisional mark of49’10” at the Penn Relays. Senior Nikkie Bouyer led the Clemsonwomen’s team in the running events at Texas A&M, placing secondin the 400m intermediate hurdles with a provisional time of 58.78.Her time was the second-fastest 400m hurdle time in Clemsonhistory, just .17 off the record of 58.61 set by Ane Skak in 1991.Senior Nikkie Bouyer led the Tigers at the Orange & PurpleClassic, winning the 400m intermediate hurdles with an NCAAAutomatic Qualifying time of 56.58c, a new Clemson record. The oldrecord of 58.61 was set in 1991 by Ane Skak. Bouyer also finishedthird in the 100m high hurdles with a provisional time of 13.36.Senior Julianne Littmann placed fifth with an NCAA Provisional timeof 4:23.50 in the 1500m at the Stanford Invitational. Her time wasa personal-best and ranks fourth on Clemson’s all-time list. Thismarks the first time since 1992 that a Clemson women’s trackathlete has provisionally qualified for the NCAAs in the 1500m. The4x400m relay team of Simone Brown, Shekera Weston, Lashonda Cutchinand Nikkie Bouyer won the event at the Georgia Invitational with aseason-best time of 44.34 to qualify provisionally for the NCAAChampionships. Sophomore Mandy McLane recorded a new personal-bestwith a provisional mark of 11’8 1/2″ in the pole vault.