Washington decathlete injured in 110 hurdles

Decathlete injured in hurdles

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon’s Andrew Wheating defended his title in the 800 meters by sprinting away from the field at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships on Friday.

Wheating finished in 1 minutes, 45.69 seconds, well in front of freshman sensation Robby Andrews of Virginia, who was runner-up in 1:46.83.

Fellow Duck Ashton Eaton won his third straight decathlon title, while Florida running back Jeff Demps won the 100 meters in a wind-aided 9.96 seconds under sunny skies at Oregon’s historic Hayward Field.

Wheating’s victory was one of the highlights Friday for the home crowd. On the same track two years ago, Wheating won a trip to Beijing by coming in second to Nick Symmonds in the 800 at the Olympic Trials.

Andrews was considered one of Wheating’s biggest threats because of his ability to kick at the finish, but Eaton never gave him a chance.

“I tried to make my move with 100 to go and he was already down the homestretch,” Andrews said.

Wheating will also compete in the 1,500-meter final on Saturday.

South Carolina’s Johnny Dutch won the men’s 400-meter hurdles in 48.75 seconds. Olympian Queen Harrison from Virginia Tech won on the women’s side in 54.55.

“I didn’t have the best start of the race, but if I’ve learned anything through my years in college is that you have to be patient, so I was really patient with the race,” Harrison said. “Just because I messed up at the beginning, I didn’t give up.”

Eaton finished the decathlon with 7,658 points, ahead of runner-up Michael Morrison of California with 7,129.

Eaton set the world record in the heptathlon at the NCAA indoor championships earlier this spring, breaking the mark set 17 years ago by Dan O’Brien.

Demps, who finished the 100 well in front of Rondel Sorrillo of Kentucky (10.09), has run for 1,368 yards and 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons for the Gators. He skipped spring practice this year to concentrate on track.

While it was windy, the conditions were much improved Friday after two days marred by periodic downpours and unseasonably cool temperatures.

Blessing Okagbare of Texas-El Paso won the women’s 100 meters with a wind-aided 10.98, while Hampton’s Francena McCoroy won the 400 meters in 50.69 and Phoebe Wright of Tennessee won the 800 meters in 2:01.40.

Florida’s Mariam Kevkhishvili won the shot put with a throw of 59 feet and 5 inches, and Indiana State’s Kylie Hutson won the pole vault with a height of 14 feet, 7 1/4 inches.

Iowa State’s Lisa Koll, who won the 10,000 meters on Wednesday, added the 5,000-meter title with a finish in 15 minutes, 23.80 seconds.

Alabama freshman Kirani James won the men’s 400 in 45.05, while Matt Hughes of Louisville won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:34.18.

Indiana’s Derek Drouin won the high jump with a leap of 7 feet, 5 inches. Walter Henning of LSU earned the title in the hammer with a throw of 238 feet, 10 inches.

After three days of competition, Oregon led the team standings on the women’s side with 30 points, followed by Iowa State with 28 and Texas A&M and Southern Illinois with 26 each.

The defending champion Aggies led with 36 points on the men’s side, ahead of Florida with 28 and Southern California with 26.5.

Earlier in the day, Washington decathlete Jeremy Taiwo fell hard during the 110-meter hurdles and was hospitalized as a precaution.

Taiwo fell face-first into the track after missing the eighth hurdle and did not move for several moments.

Organizers say he was taken to a hospital with a probable concussion and facial abrasions.

Taiwo, who is from Renton, Wash., was runner-up in the decathlon behind Eaton at the Pac-10 championships.