Brown Wins Javelin; NCAA Mideast Regional Suspended

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Top-ranked Arkansas had a strong showing on the first day of the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships as it qualified one relay and five Razorbacks to the finals scheduled for Saturday. UA would have had more had it not been for a storm that caused meet officials to suspend events for the rest of the night. Razorbacks entered in the 200-meter dash and the 5,000 meters were unable to compete after lightening was detected too close to the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex. A revised scheduled was released and now the 5,000 meters will be run at 11:20 a.m. The 200 meters will have no prelims, but heats against time at 6:52 p.m. "Up to this point weve had a good meet," Arkansas head coach John McDonnell said. "Eric Brown did a great job in the javelin and we advanced who we thought we would to the finals. We have to get through tomorrow and keep performing well." Junior Eric Brown gained an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships when he captured the javelin title with a throw of 230-11. Brown was entering the meet as the favorite to win as he led the mideast region by over 11 feet. He only had to throw four times as he put up his winning throw on his second attempt. It was his third meet to win outright this season and the fifth time he was the top collegian. The only competition Brown has not been on top was when earned runner-up honors at the SEC Championships. "Today I went in trying to work on some things," Brown said. "I kind of struggled the last couple of meets, so I wanted to do some better stuff and I think I did that today. The distance wasnt too bad, but it was a good way to get ready for nationals, so I am happy with it." Brown will enter the NCAA Championships with the nations third-best mark (248-05) that he recorded at the McDonnell Invitational. With only three inches separating the top three throwers the gold medal could be anyones to claim. Georgias Trevor Snyder is No. 1 with 248-08 and Boise States Gabriel Wallin is second with 248-06. The 4x100-meter relay began the day with freshman Michael Grant, sophomore Wallace Spearmon Jr., and seniors Tyson Gay and Omar Brown. The group advanced to the finals with a season-best time of 39.43 that was good enough to win their heat and was second-fastest overall, while LSU had the top time with 39.26. The finals are set for 5:07 p.m. on Saturday. Two Razorbacks moved on to the finals of the 1,500 meters when they finished in the top three of their heat. Sophomore Adam Perkins took the tape in the third heat with the second-fastest time overall (3:45.86), while senior Said Ahmed was third in the same heat and eighth overall with 3:46.80. The finals will take place on Saturday at 5:22 p.m. For Ahmed it was his first open 1,500-meter race since the McDonnell Invitational on April 23. Senior Terry Gatson turned in a quality performance in the 400 meters after he won his heat with a time of 45.87. Gatson will carry the second-fastest overall preliminary time into the finals on Saturday at 5:52 p.m. Gay then lined up in the 100-meter dash and finished first in his heat with the fastest overall qualifying time of 10.35. Grant and Kiper were unable to advance with times of 10.66 and 10.86, respectively. Senior James Hatch was the only Razorback to move on to the finals of the 800 meters with his top-two finish in his preliminary heat. The Southeastern Conference champion posted a time of 1:48.83 that placed him fourth overall. Kent States Mike Inge crossed the line first with a clocking of 1:47.66. Sophomore Brian Roe was in the same heat and turned in a time of 1:50.38 and was 11th overall, while junior Harun Iman ran a time of 1:51.33 in the second heat for 16th overall. Sophomore Greg Martin missed advancing to nationals in the high jump by one spot when he finished in a tie for sixth place with a clearance of 6-11.00. Martin took two tries to clear that height, while the fifth place finisher, Charles Sparks of Indiana State, made the height on his first attempt. Junior Tony Ugoh threw 151-02 in the discus and finished in 30th place. No Razorbacks advanced to the finals of the 400-meter hurdles. Junior David Wittenmyer registered a time of 53.35 and junior Brad Dittoe was unable to finish. In the team race Arkansas is in first place with 12.5 points. There is a four-way tie for second place (10) between Southeastern Louisiana, Northwestern State, Auburn and Central Michigan. Arkansas Results 100 meters - prelims 1st - Tyson Gay 10.35 17th - Michael Grant 10.66 23rd - Creighton Kiper 10.86 400 meters - prelims 2nd - Terry Gatson 45.87 800 meters - prelims 4th - James Hatch 1:48.83 11th - Brian Roe 1:50.38 16th - Harun Iman 1:51.33 1,500 meters - prelims 2nd - Adam Perkins 3:45.86 8th - Said Ahmed 3:46.80 400-meter hurdles 20th - David Wittenmyer 53.35 DNF - Brad Dittoe - 4x100-meter relay - prelims 2nd - Michael Grant, Wallace Spearmon Jr., Tyson Gay, Omar Brown 39.43 High Jump - final T6th Greg Martin 6-11.00 Javelin - final 1st - Eric Brown 230-11 Discus - final 30th Tony Ugoh 151-02