June 9, 2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Two seniors competed for George Mason men's track and field on the third day of action at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. on Friday. Marc Kellman advanced to Saturday's finals in the triple jump by placing 12th in Friday's qualifying round with a leap of 15.57 meters (51 ft. 1 in.), while Richard Phillips finished ninth in the finals of the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.76 seconds.

The top 12 all advanced to the final round of the triple jump, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET). Kellman, the runner-up in the triple jump at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a leap of 16.43 meters, posted his best jump of the day on his first attempt. On his second attempt, he recorded a mark of 15.53 meters and on his final attempt he ran through the sand pit, recording a foul.

Joining Kellman in tomorrow's finals are Indiana's Kyle Jenkins, who finished with the top jump in the qualifying round with a mark of 15.97 meters (52 ft. 4.75 in.), Florida State's Rafeeq Curry (15.94 meters/52 ft. 3.75 in.), Michigan's Michael Whitehead (15.89 meters/52 ft. 1.75 in.), Cornell's Rayon Taylor (15.86 meters/52 ft. .5 in.), Long Beach State's John Temidara (15.76 meters/51 ft. 8.5 in.), TCU's Jonathan Jackson (15.73 meters/51 ft. 7.25 in.), Long Beach State's Ronald Carter (15.66 meters/51 ft. 4.5 in.), Arizona State's Ryan Zimmerman (15.65 meters/51 ft. 4.25 in.), Minnesota's Derek Gearman (15.65 meters/51 ft. 4.25 in.), Illinois' Nick Brown (15.61 meters/51 ft. 2.75 in.) and Clemson's Jason Bell (15.59 meters/51 ft. 1.75 in.).

In the 110-meter hurdles finals, Phillips finished in ninth place. Tennessee's Aries Merritt, who has not lost a single race during the entire outdoor season in the event, finished first, blowing away the field with a time of 13.21 seconds, breaking the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships meet record of 13.22 seconds set by UCLA's Greg Foster in 1978. Maryland's Dominic Berger was the runner up (13.49 seconds), South Carolina's Jason Richardson finished third (13.51 seconds), Mississippi's John Yarbrough placed fourth (13.56 seconds), Oregon's Eric Mitchum finished fifth (13.58 seconds), Texas Tech's Marlon Odom finished sixth (13.70 seconds), Middle Tennessee State's Linnie Yarbrough finished seventh (13.71 seconds) and UCLA's Kevin Craddock finished eighth (13.76 seconds). Phillips advanced to Friday's finals by finishing with the fourth-fastest time overall in the first round (13.78 seconds) and the second-best time overall in the semifinals (13.53 seconds).

For the first time since 1982, the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will air live on network television when CBS airs two-and-a-half hours of live coverage from 3:30 - 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. The final day of the four-day meet will begin at 10:30 a.m. PT (1:30 p.m. ET) with the final three events of the heptathlon. The field events will begin at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) with the finals of the women's hammer throw, while the track events start at 12:05 p.m. PT (3:05 p.m. ET) with the women's 800 meter final.