DES MOINES - Amy Begley and Erica McLain each set stadium records Thursday at the
2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake
University in Des Moines, Iowa. The championships will run through Sunday.
The USA Outdoor Championships are the third stop of the 2010 USATF Outdoor Visa
Championship Series, which concludes July 3 with the Nike Prefontaine Classic from
historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Begley wins second national 10,000m title
2008 Olympian Amy Begley won her second consecutive U.S. 10,000m women's title this
evening over former Iowa State University standout and 2008 NCAA champion Lisa Koll
in a highly competitive race.
The sixth-place finisher at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany,
Begley broke away from Koll in with one lap remaining before crossing the finish
line first in 32:06.45, which shattered the previous Drake Stadium record of 32:44.95
set by Koll in 2008. Koll finished as the runner-up in 32:11.72, with Desiree Davila
third in 32:22.32 and Blake Russell fourth in 32:46.73.
McLain sets stadium record on second best jump
2008 Olympian Erica McLain won her second USA Outdoor title and set a Drake Stadium
record in dominating the women's triple jump competition.
McLain ended the suspense in the first round with what would be the winning leap
of 14.18 meters/46 feet 6.25 inches, which would have given her the stadium record.
However, McLain soared to the pit with a 2.1 meters per second wind at her back,
which is slightly over the allowable for record purposes. On her final attempt
she sailed to 14.15m/46-5.25 (+0.4 mps), which bettered the previous stadium record
of 13.79m/45-3 set by Shani Marks in 2003.
McLain has been knocking on the door of her second U.S. Outdoor title since her
first triumph in 2005. She finished second at the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships
in Eugene, and placed third in 2007 and 2008.
Two-time Olympic Trials runner-up and 2009 national outdoor champion Shakeema Welsch
was the runner-up and first competitor to break the stadium record this evening
with a best of 14.07m/46-2. Former University of Oklahoma standout Toni Smith finished
third for the second year in a row with her third round leap of 13.69m/44-11.
Speed to burn in 100m qualifying
2007 World Outdoor Championships 200m finalist LaShaunte'a Moore won the third heat
of women's 100m qualifying in 11.26 seconds, which was the fastest time of the
day. Three-time World Outdoor 200m champion Allyson Felix won Heat 2 in 11.32, and
2009 NCAA 100m champion and USA Outdoor Champs fourth-place finisher Alexandria
Anderson won Heat 1 in 11.29.
Dunn does it in 400m qualifying
2009 USA Outdoor Champs runner-up and World Outdoor Championships sixth-place finisher Debbie Dunn led the women's 400m qualifiers in winning Heat 1 in 51.74. Last year's
fourth place finisher Natasha Hastings came up with the second-fastest time of the
day from her win in Heat 3 in 51.91, and reigning World Outdoor champion Sanya Richards-Ross, who has been ranked #1 in the world at 400m over the last five years, won Heat 2 in the identical time posted by Hastings.
Johnson, Williams lead 800m qualifiers
The fastest qualifier in the first round of the women's 800m was 2007 USA Outdoor
and NCAA champion Alysia Johnson, who won Heat 2 in 2:02.19, with the University
of Tennessee's Phoebe Wright winning the first heat in the second-fastest time
of the day of 2:02.33. Wright won the NCAA Outdoor crown earlier this month in Eugene,
and finished third at last year's USA Outdoor Championships.
Donohue, Pierce post fastest times in women's 1,500m
2008 Olympian and 2009 USA Outdoor Champs fourth-place finisher Erin Donohue was
the fastest of 18 competitors in women's 1,500m qualifying. Donohue won the second
of two heats in 4:11.72, with 2009 World Outdoor Championships 1,500m sixth-place
finisher Anna Pierce finishing as the runner-up in that heat in 4:11.82, which was
the second-fastest time of the day.
2009 World Outdoor Championships bronze medalist and reigning national champion
Shannon Rowbury won Heat 1 in 4:11.87, with 2008 Olympic Games 10,000m bronze medalist
Shalane Flanagan finishing as runner-up in 4:11.94.
Franek in first in women's steeple
A competitive first heat of women's steeplechase qualifying was won by Penn State
University's 2010 NCAA champion Bridget Franek, who finished third at last year's
USA Championships and crossed the finish line first today in 9:58.91. 2008 Olympic
Trials fourth-place finisher Nicole Bush was the runner-up in 10:00.69
2006 national steeple champion Lisa Aguilera won Heat 2 in 10:02.75, with former
Stanford standout Lindsay Allen, who finished seventh at last year's championships,
placing second in 10:03.81.
USA Outdoor Championships network television coverage begins Friday night!
The 2010 USA Outdoor Championships will be televised on the following dates (All
times Eastern):
June 25 - 8:00 - 10 p.m. on ESPN
June 26 - 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
June 26 - 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. on NBC
June 27 - 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
June 27 - 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. on NBC
