Boise State's Bates wins women's NCAA 10K title
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) Boise State junior Emma Bates won the women's 10,000 meters on Thursday night in the NCAA track and field championships in 32 minutes, 32.35 seconds, the second-fastest time in the history of the meet.
Bates' finish was second only to the 32:28.57 run by Sylvia Mosqueda of Cal State Los Angeles in 1988. Bates is the first women to win an NCAA outdoor title for the Broncos.
She pushed on the final 400 meters for the victory.
''That's usually what I do is kind of wait until the last lap to go,'' she said. ''But when you're at this level all the girls are going to go, so I just wanted to stay as smooth as I could and relaxed as I could until the last hundred meters, and it was just all arms that last stretch. I really had to pull myself to the finish line.''
Alabama-Birmingham senor Elinor Kirk was second in the race that capped the second day of the championships at Oregon's Hayward Field.
Georgia sophomore Maicel Uibo won the decathlon with 8,182 points, and Texas' Johannes Hock was second at 8,092.
Uibo overtook Hock with a third-place finish in the final event, the 1,500. Hock finished in 12th.
''I didn't PR in anything. I was just consistent in everything,'' Uibo said. ''Put together a decent mark and I'm happy with that. Happy with first place''
Oregon's men led the team standings with 26 points, two more than Georgia.
The Ducks' men entered the meet ranked No. 1 in the nation by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Oregon has won eight straight Pac-12 titles and claimed the NCAA indoor title, but the team hasn't won an outdoor championship since 1984.
Second-ranked Florida and third-ranked Texas A&M were the co-champions last year, when the outdoor championships also were held at Hayward Field.
Oregon's men appeared to advance to the finals in the 4X400 relay, but were later disqualified for a lane violation. The Ducks appealed but a decision will not be made until Friday.
On the women's side, Oregon also held the lead with 19 points, ahead of a group with 10.
Texas is ranked No. 1 by the USTFCCCA, followed by Texas A&M. The third-ranked Ducks, coming off their sixth straight Pac-12 title, have not won an outdoor team title since 1985. Kansas is the defending women's champion.
Many of the events Thursday were semifinal heats with most finals scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
Kent State junior Matthias Tayala won the men's hammer with a throw of 241 feet, 4 inches, breaking his own school record in the event. The last time Kent State won in the hammer was 1973.
Defending champion Tomas Kruzliak of Virginia Tech finished fifth.
Texas A&M sophomore Shelbi Vaughan fouled her first two throws but went on to win the discus with a throw of 196-11.
Florida junior Marquis Dendy battled windy conditions to win the long jump with a leap of 26-3. He also won the event at the 2013 NCAA indoor championships.
Georgia freshman Kendell Williams was leading the heptathlon with 3,685 points, in front of defending champion Lindsey Vollmer of Kansas with 3,493.