Troy University Athletics
Bassett Claims Regional Gold
5/30/2008 5:00:00 AM | Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - After competing injured at the Mideast Regional last season and missing out on a chance to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Troy University junior O'Darien Bassett punched his ticket to the national championships Friday night with his performance at the 2008 NCAA Mideast Region.
Bassett became the first Trojan to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships this season with a gold-medal winning performance in the long jump at the University of Arkansas Friday night. On his second jump of the competition, Bassett jumped a school record distance of 7.94 meters (26'3/4") and withstood the challenge of the other competitors to win the championship.
"It was very close," Bassett said. "I was third coming in, and I knew I had to bring my A-game. I set a school record, and I jumped behind the board today. I just focused on my mechanics. Last year, I had the best (jump) coming in but I was injured, so I gained my respect back today."
Sophomore Leander McKenzie reached the finals of the 110-meter hurdles on Friday afternoon with a wind-aided time of 13.86 seconds. Even with the wind, it is the fastest time of the season for McKenzie, who previously ran a ime of 14.01 seconds at the Coach O Invitational in April. He finished third in his heat and will try to improve upon his sixth place finish overall in the finals of the event on Saturday. The top five in each event advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
Seniors Tawanna Meadows and Desmond Brown also had respectable showings in their events Friday on the first day of competition at the NCAA Mideast Region. Meadows competed in three events, and moved on to the finals of the 100-meter dash to be held on Saturday. The third-leading runner in the region finished seventh in the preliminary round with a time of 11.39 seconds. She trails four runners from Louisiana State University and two from the University of Tennessee heading into the finals. Her first event of the day, the 4x100-meter team, finished 11th overall with a time of 45.87 seconds. She also finished just outside the top-eight in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.52 seconds.
Meanwhile, Brown broke a 20-year old school record by running a time of 51.77 seconds to finish second in his flight, but missed making the finals by just 0.30 seconds. The time broke the record of Eardley Jarvis of 51.78 seconds, set back in 1987.
Other athletes who competed on day one of the NCAA Regionals were Norman Austin, finishing ninth in the javelin with a distance of 63.99 meters (209'11"). The distance broke the school record that Austin set previously at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships earlier this month. Freshman Porsche Holden, competing in her first regional, finished seventh in her heat and 35th overall with a time of 14.23 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Senior Lamar Hicks competed in two events on the day, finishing fifth in his heat and 15th overall in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.39 seconds. He also narrowly missed out on the finals in the 200-meter dash, finishing sixth in his heat and 21st overall with a time of 21.19 seconds.
Lamontrey Stamper finished ninth in his flight and 28th overall in the long jump with a distance of 6.96 meters (22'10"), while Juzil Rudolph competed in the 4x100-meter relay and finished 22nd overall in the women's long jump with a distance of 5.75 meters (18'10 1/2"). Sophomore Tiphanie Baker was the last athlete to compete on the day for the Trojans, finishing ninth with a distance of 49.91 meters (163'9") in the discus.
After the first day of competition, the Trojan men are seventh overall in the team standings with a total of 10 points. They are tied with Louisiana-Monroe for the highest point total among Sun Belt Conference schools. Action picks back up tomorrow at 11 am and continues all day with athletes competing in the 100-meter finals (women), 110-meter hurdles (men) and the triple jump (women).
