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Hodge advances to 200 final on day two of NCAA Outdoor Championships
Hodge is bidding to become the first woman in school history to win an NCAA title.
June 7, 2007 SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Despite battling a cold, which included a sore throat, TCU sprinter Virgil Hodge cruised through the prelims and semifinals and into Saturday's final of the 200 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday. "Virgil Hodge was great," head coach Darryl Anderson said. "She got through the two rounds and now she will have lighter day tomorrow with the 4x1. She made it through the rounds pretty comfortably. I think she's got a shot at (the title). Our job tomorrow is to get her rested up, get her recovered and get her ready to go." Competing at the Alex G. Spanos Athletic Complex on the Sacramento State campus, Hodge punched her ticket to the finals for the second straight season with a time of 22.74 in lane six to finish second in the first heat behind Houston's Ebonie Floyd. Hodge's time was third overall behind Floyd and Auburn's Kerron Stewart, who clocked a 22.52 to qualify first. "I had to put (the cold) out of the way," Hodge said. "I came here for a reason. I've trained nine months for this and I went out there and did what I needed to do." In 2006, Hodge earned All-America honors by placing seventh in the event. Hodge also earned All-America honors at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships by finishing seventh. A native of Basseterre, St. Kitts, Hodge breezed through the prelims by clocking the fastest time in the round with a mark of 22.77. Hodge's time earned her the No. 1 qualifying time in the semifinals. Auburn's Kerron Stewart matched Hodge's time of 22.77, but Hodge won the tiebreaker with a lower wind reading of 0.6 compared to 1.8. Hodge's time was her third-fastest of the season.
Hodge will enter Saturday's final with the hope of becoming the first women in school history to win an NCAA title - indoor or outdoor.
The Flyin' Frogs narrowly missed qualifying for the finals of the men's 4x400 relay by one position, as the team of Clint Renfro, Delwayne Delaney, Raymond Jones and Dell Guy clocked a season-best time of 3:06.34 to place ninth. TCU was edged for the eighth and final qualifying spot by Florida, which posted a mark of 3:04.92. The ninth-place finish ended any opportunity of the men's team earning All-America honors for the second straight year in either the 4x100 or 4x400 after finishing second in the 4x400 and fourth in the 4x100 in 2006. The women's 4x400 relay had a tough day and were unable to advance to Saturday's finals after finishing 11th overall and third in heat No. 4 with a time of 3:34.01. Despite not advancing, the relay team of Marquita Davis, Deborah Jones, Jamee Jones and Nathandra John was able to post the third-fastest time of the year. Starting in lane three, TCU was able to make up significant ground after a 56-second split in the opening leg, as the Frogs moved from fourth to third in the heat following the second exchange between Deborah Jones' and Jamee Jones. By placing 11th, TCU failed to advance to advance to the finals or earn All-America honors in the event for the first time since 2004. Competing in the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles, Kishelle Paul posted a time of 1:00.72 and finished fourth in heat No. 4. Unfortunately, Paul finished 24th overall and did not advance to Friday's semifinals because only the top two from each heat plus the next six fastest times advance. TCU will open competition at 3:45 p.m. CT on Friday with Jonathan Jackson competing in the qualifying round of the triple jump. Friday's meet will also be televised live by CSTV, beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT.
TCU's Results - Thursday
WOMEN
^ - Advanced to semifinals
TCU's Remaining Schedule
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