Men's Outdoor Track and Field Southern Conference

Chattanooga's Wommack finishes 5th in steeplechase, earns All-America honors

Shannon Wommack, Chattanooga

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga distance runner Shannon Wommack ran a
school-record pace in the 3,000 meter steeplechase to earn her third All-America honor
with a fifth place finish at the NCAA Division I
Outdoor Track and Field National Championships Friday
night in Sacramento, Calif.

Wommack had the chance to finish first or second in
the race, but a misstep in the water hazard dropped
her to the back of the pack.

"She fell!" UTC head coach Bill Gautier said. "But she
took her time and worked her way back up. She had
about three laps to go."

Wommack shaved 1.50 seconds off her school record time
to finish at 10:07.14 in the 14-person race.

"I thought she was going to win," Gautier said. "She's
all bruised up, but she got to stand on the podium and
she's All-American."

The Conyers, Ga., junior finished ahead of runners
from Providence, Marquette and North Carolina, but was
more than 12 seconds off the top time 9:54.32 run by
Butler's Victoria Mitchell.

The physical therapy student won the Southern
Conference title last month for the third time and
holds the league record at 10:34.

Wommack earned All-America status at the 2004 NCAA
Outdoor Track Nationals in the 5000m and was named
All-America in cross country last fall along with
teammate Kathleen Turchin.

While excelling on the track, she also is a top
student. She was named to the ESPN The Magazine
Academic All-District IV First Team along with
teammate Ian Mayne earlier this month. The pair are
now on the ballot for Academic All-America.

Turchin, a sophomore out of Sugar Hill, Ga., will
compete in the women's 5000m Saturday nigth at 8:10
Pacific Time.

Kathleen Turchin, Chattanooga

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Chattanooga distance runner
Kathleen Turchin closed out the 2005 UTC outdoor track
season at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field
National Championships in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday
night.

Turchin, a sophomore from Sugar Hill, Ga., placed 14th
overall in the 5000 meter race with a time of 17:11.34. She
ran a personal best 16:31.14 on Wednesday to qualify
for Saturday's race.

Megan Metcalfe of West Virginia led the field of 16
runners with a time of 16:31.88.

The Lady Mocs scored four points when junior Shannon
Wommack placed fifth in the 3000m steeplechase Friday
night and are in a six-way tie for 51st.




Charles Jones, UNC Greensboro

SACRAMENTO, CA -- UNC Greensboro junior Charles Jones recorded a triple jump leap of 15.15 meters, but it was not enough to advance to Saturday's final round at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Jones, the first Spartan in school history to qualify for the NCAA National Championship meet, fouled on his first jump and recorded his 15.15 meters on his second jump. However, he recorded a leap of 15.07 meters on his third jump to finish 23rd among 27 competitors. Only the Top 12 advance to Saturday night's final round.

During the NCAA Regional meet two weeks ago, Jones, a native of Wilson, NC, recorded a school record mark of 15.50 meters to finish fifth and qualify for the National Championship meet.


AGATE

Preliminaries
1 Rodrigo Mendes SR Brigham Young 17.54mq 3.4
57-06.50
17.54m(3.4) PASS(NWI) PASS(NWI)
2 Allen Simms SR Southern California 16.94mq 1.9
55-07.00
16.48m(1.1) 16.94m(1.9) PASS(NWI)
3 Aarik Wilson SR Indiana 16.79mq 1.6
55-01.00
16.28m(1.0) 16.79m(1.6) PASS(NWI)
4 Rafeeq Curry JR Florida State 16.38mq 0.7
53-09.00
16.21m(2.8) 16.35m(3.4) 16.38m(0.7)
5 Samyr Laine JR Harvard 16.34mq 1.7
53-07.50
16.34m(1.7) PASS(NWI) PASS(NWI)
6 Brandon Atkinson SR Mississippi 16.23mq 1.7
53-03.00
FOUL(NWI) 16.23m(1.7) FOUL(NWI)
7 Jaanus Uudmae SR Arkansas 16.16mq 2.3
53-00.25
16.07m(1.5) FOUL(NWI) 16.16m(2.3)
8 Brian Veal SR Texas State 16.01mq 2.7
52-06.50
15.73m(1.2) FOUL(NWI) 16.01m(2.7)
9 Ryan Zimmerman JR Arizona State 15.98mq 3.2
52-05.25
15.98m(3.2) 13.66m(1.7) FOUL(NWI)
10 Michael Whitehead SO Michigan 15.93mq 2.2
52-03.25
15.65m(0.5) FOUL(NWI) 15.93m(2.2)
11 Everett Bruce SR North Carolina A&T 15.82mq 2.4
51-11.00
FOUL(NWI) 15.67m(3.7) 15.82m(2.4)
12 Marc Kellman SR George Mason 15.82mq 2.0
51-11.00
15.39m(1.9) 13.45m(1.5) 15.82m(2.0)
13 Alonzo Moore JR Wisconsin 15.71m 3.6
51-06.50
15.71m(3.6) 15.44m(2.1) 15.35m(5.4)
14 Corey Dowden JR Texas Tech 15.66m 3.0
51-04.50
15.66m(3.0) FOUL(NWI) 15.06m(2.2)
14 Stelios Kapsalis JR Kansas State 15.66m 1.9
51-04.50
15.37m(2.3) 15.61m(2.1) 15.66m(1.9)
16 Andrew Gamble SR Texas A&M 15.53m 3.6
50-11.50
FOUL(NWI) 15.38m(1.7) 15.53m(3.6)
17 Willie Johnson SR Florida State 15.49m 2.0
50-10.00
15.40m(3.2) 15.49m(2.0) 15.43m(0.9)
18 Tony Douglas JR Iowa State 15.48m 3.4
50-09.50
14.61m(1.5) 14.97m(1.3) 15.48m(3.4)
19 Leonidas Watson SR Oregon 15.47m 2.0
50-09.25
15.43m(2.4) 15.47m(2.0) 14.20m(1.5)
20 Rick Bellford JR Wisconsin 15.41m 1.6
50-06.75
15.41m(1.6) FOUL(NWI) FOUL(NWI)
21 Ronald Carter JR Long Beach State 15.24m 1.5
50-00.00
15.24m(1.5) 14.95m(1.2) 15.17m(1.1)
22 Fabian Florant JR SW Missouri St. 15.22m 2.4
49-11.25
FOUL(NWI) 15.22m(2.4) 14.84m(2.5)
23 Charles Jones JR UNC-Greensboro 15.15m 3.5
49-08.50
FOUL(NWI) 15.15m(3.5) 15.07m(4.0)
24 Jason Bell SO Clemson 15.04m 4.2
49-04.25
15.04m(4.2) FOUL(NWI) FOUL(NWI)
25 Yuriy Litvinski SO Northern Iowa 14.94m 0.8
49-00.25
FOUL(NWI) FOUL(NWI) 14.94m(0.8)
26 Johnny Wiley SR Northridge 14.66m 1.2
48-01.25
FOUL(NWI) FOUL(NWI) 14.66m(1.2)
-- Solomon Welch JR Stanford FOUL
FOUL(NWI) FOUL(NWI) FOUL(NWI)
- UNCG -