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May 22, 2009
NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: Kongela Earns Spot in Men’s 100 Finals on Saturday
MARIETTA, Ohio – Dakarai Kongela finished second in the third heat and earned a spot in the finals of the men’s 100 meter dash on Saturday, highlighting efforts by four George Fox University athletes on the second day of competition in the 2009 NCAA Division III Track and Field National Championships Friday here at Marietta College’s Don Drumm Stadium.
Kongela, a junior from Suquamish, Wash., ran a 10.79, the
fifth-best trial time, to qualify for Saturday’s championship
race at 2:30 p.m. EDT (11:30 a.m. PDT). He
entered the meet with the second-best 100 time in Bruin history of
10.60, which ranked 8th nationally. That time on
Saturday could be a winner, as the best time posted Friday was
10.67 by Delannie Spriggs of Salisbury University.
Irene Johnson, a sophomore from Portland, Ore., ran in
the 100 meter hurdles for the Bruins Friday and finished sixth in
her heat with a 14.90, which did not qualify for Saturday’s
finals. She had entered the nationals with a
school-record time of 14.47 and stood 11th
nationally. The best time Friday was a 14.54 by
Brandye Jackson of North Central College (Ill.).
George Fox multi-event entrants Melissa Leighty
in the women’s heptathlon and Ryan Forbes in
the men’s decathlon completed their competition
Friday. Leighty, a sophomore from Canby, Ore.,
slipped from sixth to 12th overall with 4,303
points. Forbes, who stood 14th after the first
day’s five events, climbed three places to finish 11th with
6,501 points. Ashley Huston of Hardin-Simmons
University took the heptathlon with 5,244 points, while Linfield
College’s twin brothers, Josh and Jeremy Lovell, finished 1-2
in the decathlon with 7,080 and 6,857 points respectively.
In Friday’s events, Leighty placed third in the long jump
(17-1.25 / 5.21m), 18th in the javelin (83-10 / 25.55m), and 17th
in the 800 meter run (2:36.89). Forbes posted
finishes of 10th in the 110 meter hurdles (15.97), fifth in the
discus (119-8 / 36.48m), third in the pole vault (14-7.25 / 4.45m),
11th in the javelin (143-4 / 43.68m), and seventh in the 1500 meter
run (4:48.89).
The Bruins’ two other national participants, javelin
throwers Beth Stam and Joel
Krebs, competed on Thursday and earned All-America honors
with fourth and sixth-place finishes respectively in the
women’s and men’s divisions. Stam, a
freshman from Siletz, Ore., threw a 139-4 / 42.48m, earning the
Bruins five points in the team standings. Krebs,
a senior from Salem, Ore., threw a 196-8 / 59.9m to earn three
points for the Bruins’ team score.
