Six national champions were crowned Thursday as the 2009 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships opened at the LeGrand Sports Complex in San Angelo, Texas.
The men's and women's hammer throw and the men's and women's long jump were contested as well as the men's and women's 10,000-meter run Thursday. The first day of the heptathlon and the decathlon and several running preliminaries scattered Thursday's schedule.
The highlight of the meet so far has been St. Augustine's' Barbara Pierre. The junior set a new NCAA D-II record in the 100-meter dash as she recorded a tie of 11.18 in Thursday's prelims. Pierre's time bested Norfolk's Chandra Sturrup's division and national meet record of 11.20 set in 1993.
In the women's hammer, UC-San Diego's Danielle Thu bested the field by better than 13 feet as she claimed the national title in the event with a toss of 198' 8". Thu's championship mark came in her second throw of the prelims. Northern State's Amanda Madden placed second (185'0") and Angelo State's Adree Lakey finished third (182'4").
In the men's hammer, Central Missouri's Drew Frizzell won the national title with a throw of 219'5", that coming on his second throw of his finals. Ashland's Ryan Loughney placed second (213'2") and Hillsdale's Aaron Falk third (209'6").
In the women's long jump, Lincoln's AnnaKay Campbell claimed the crown with a jump of 20'9" in her opening attempt. Campbell would pass on four of her next five attempts as no other competitor could catch her. Angelo State's Aisha Adams placed second with a jump of 20'0.5" and Fort Valley State's Antionette Oglesby was third (19'11.75).
In the men's long jump, Nafee Harris of Indiana (Pa.) took the title on his final jump with a leap of 26'1.75". Harris overtook Alaska-Anchorage's David Registe, whose jump of 25'11.5" was the best going into the finals. Joe Kindred of St. Augustine's placed third with a jump of 25'6.75".
Queens' Tanya Zeferjahn claimed the first running title of this year's meet, winning the 10,000 in a time of 35:38.46. Kimi Shank from Missouri Southern was second (35:42.93) and Adams State's Heather Wood third (35:55.62).
In the men's 10,000, Daniel Kirwa from Harding claimed the national title in a time of 29:46.84. Adams State's Brian Medigovich was second (29:49.31) and Abilene Christian's Amos Sang third (29:54.20).
Action continues at the LeGrand Sports Complex Friday morning with the final events in the decathlon and heptathlon. The decathlon resumes at 10 a.m. while the heptathlon resumes at 11 a.m.
Five more national champions will be crowned Friday as the men's and women's shot put, men's high jump, women's triple jump and the women's pole vault to be contest. More running preliminaries resume at 6 p.m. Friday.
