June 7, 2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Murielle Ahoure, the lone freshman competing in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at A.G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif., finished the first round of competition in the event with a time of 23.95 seconds.

While the time didn't qualify Ahoure for the semifinals, she will get another chance to compete at the championships when she lines up in the first round of Thursday's 100-meter dash, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. ET). She will run in the first of four preliminary heats, against Indiana's Ara Towns, Charlotte's Courtney Patterson, UTEP's Oludamola Osayomi, TCU's Virgil Hodge, South Carolina's Shalonda Solomon and Tulane's Gloria Asumnu. Solomon is the top seed in the heat with a time of 11.07 seconds while Ahoure's personal best of 11.42 seconds ranks sixth in the heat. Eighteen competitors from the four heats - the top three from each heat, plus the six fastest times - will advance to the semifinals, which will be held on Thursday at 5:20 p.m. PT (8:20 p.m. ET).

With two second-place finishes in the 110-meter hurdles on the first day of action at the National Championships, senior Richard Phillips advanced to the finals and will compete along with eight other athletes for the national title on Friday at 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET).

In the first round of action, Phillips finished with the fourth fastest time overall, clocking in at 13.78 seconds to finish second to Oregon senior Eric Mitchum in his heat. Mitchum crossed the finish line in 13.70 seconds to win the heat. Aside from Mitchum, only two other hurdlers finished with faster times than Phillips in the first round. South Carolina's Jason Richardson won his heat with a time of 13.64 seconds and Tennessee's Aries Merritt took first place in his heat with a time of 13.51 seconds.

Later in the afternoon, Phillips hit the track again for the semifinal round, and finished in second-place in his heat once again, trailing only Merritt, who took first place with a time of 13.40 seconds. Phillips finished in 13.53 seconds, his fastest time of the season, and the second-fastest time amongst all semifinalists.

The senior will attempt to close out his career with a championship in Friday's finals. Lining up in the finals with Phillips will be UCLA's Kevin Craddock, Mississippi's John Yarbrough, Texas Tech's Marlon Odom, Merritt, Richardson, Mitchum, Middle Tennessee State's Linnie Yarbrough and Maryland's Dominic Berger. Merritt, Richardson, Odom, Mitchum, Linnie Yarbrough and John Yarbrough entered the meet ranked one through six in the nation, respectively, in the event. Phillips entered the meet with the 15th fastest time in the country.

The National Championships continue on Thursday at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) with the final five events of the decathlon. The first field event, the qualifying round of the women's hammer throw, is slated for 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET) while the track events begin at 3:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. ET) with the first round of the women's 100-meter dash. The National Championships will air live on CSTV from 8 - 10 p.m. ET on Friday and from 3:30 - 6 p.m. ET on Saturday on CBS.