DURHAM, N.C. -- Amid 90-degree temperatures and humidity that pushed 80 percent, the BYU women's track and field team picked up five more points during the second day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to hold a tight lead in the overall team competition.
Jeana Bingham earned All-America honors, scoring the only team points of the day for the Cougars with a fourth-place finish in the high jump (5-11 3/4). The five points put the Cougars at 23 heading into the final two days of competition."I just wanted to become an All-American, and I achieved that goal," said Bingham. "I knew that if I could make the first three heights I would be in the top eight. Getting fourth was a big bonus."
Kirsten Bolm opened the women's action on Thursday with a win in the first heat of the 100-meter hurdles, tying a personal best with a finish of 13.02 seconds.
Bolm was the last competitor out of the blocks but overcame the slow start to take a surprise win out of the inside lane. Just over half an hour later, Bolm was due up in the long jump preliminaries, entering the competition ranked fourth in the nation. Her best distance, a 20-3 1/2 performance in the third round, left her in 11th place at the end of the trials and out of the finals, where only the best nine advanced.
"Kirsten felt heavy and didn't have any pop after the hurdles," said women's coach Craig Poole. "Maybe the heat got to her, especially since she didn't have much time to rest."
The Cougars' 23 team points after two days have the team in position to finish ahead of last year's eighth-place finish in Boise. BYU ended with 28 points to earn that 1999 placing.
"We're doing just fine, and when you consider how the scoring went last year, I guess you could say we're ahead of schedule," said Poole.
The distance team followed up Thursday's 1-2 finish in the 10,000 meters with qualifiers in the 1,500 and 3,000 in the evening. Susan Taylor, who entered the championships with the second-highest qualifying time in the 1,500-meter field, qualified by placing third in her semifinal heat in 4:20.64.
In the final women's event of the day, Sharolyn Shields picked up a qualifying spot in the 3,000 meters by finishing fourth in heat two (9:28.89). Shields ran in the sixth position throughout the majority of the race, before moving into fourth on the bell lap on a 400-meter kick to the finish line. Battling illness, Laura Heiner finished ninth in her heat and did not qualify for Saturday's final.
In men's action, BYU junior Jim Roberts chalked up All-America honors for the second straight season, claiming third-place in the shotput competition.
Roberts held the lead through the first four puts with a mark of 64-9 3/4. In the fifth round, Joaquin Olsen of Idaho hit 66-5 3/4 to take the lead. Two other competitors eclipsed Roberts' mark, dropping the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Texas native to fourth place. On his next put, Roberts recorded a life-time best 65-11 to move back in to third place where he would stay through the sixth and final round.
In the 100-meter trials, junior Kenneth Andam finished third in the third heat with a time of 10.21 to advance to todaysemifinals.
UTAH STATE: James Parker finished fourth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships Thursday. It marked the third time the junior has finished in the top 10 in the NCAA in this event.
Parker recorded a throw of 235-6 3/4 to finish fourth. That distance also broke his own school record in the event. His fourth-place finish matched the top individual finish by an Aggie at the NCAA Championships since 1990, when Lance White was fourth in the pole vault in 1995, and Corey Murdock was fourth in the 400 hurdles in 1998.
Last year Parker finished fifth in the hammer throw and in 1995 placed ninth in that event. On Wednesday, Parker placed 13th in the discus.
WEBER STATE: Weber State's Brooke Cottle finished 13th in the women's high jump. Cottle, the 2000 Big Sky Conference Indoor and Outdoor champion, cleared 5-9 3/4.
Kelly Hansen placed 17th in the trials of the women's 1,500 meter run. Her time was 4:28.04, but she did not qualify for the finals on Saturday. Hansen is the 2000 Big Sky Conference Indoor One Mile run champion, the outdoor 1,500 and 3,000 meter champion.