The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
C-USA Championships
Vaughn Claims First In 3,000m Steeplechase
5/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 12, 2012
Meet Results | Sunday Live Results
NEW ORLEANS—Senior Kristina Vaughn claimed first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Saturday on day two of the Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Tulane.
Vaughn crossed the line at Tad Gormley Stadium in 10:35.81, almost 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Kristine Eikrem-Engeset of SMU (10:47.50). Vaughn earned 10 points for UAB and All-Conference USA First Team honors.
“UAB track and field had a good day. Kristina Vaughn is the C-USA Steeplechase Champion and that's huge,” UAB head coach Kurt Thomas said. “No one deserves that more than her. There isn't another student-athlete who works harder, and gets the most out of themselves. She had a bad fall last year at this meet and finished ninth. She came back to be a champion, and she did that. Congrats to her and coach Tony Houchin for getting her ready.”
On day one of competition on Friday, junior Akira McSwain sat in third-place after completing the first four events of the Heptathlon. She wrapped up the final three events on day two and placed fifth overall with a personal-best 5,060 points to earn four points for UAB. Xenia Rahn of Memphis won the event with 5,325 points.
After two days of competition, the Blazers sit in sixth place with 17 points. SMU tops the leaderboard with 32 points, followed by East Carolina with 24 points.
UAB will have the opportunity to earn more team points on the third and final day of the championships on Sunday as six athletes will run in the final rounds after qualifying in the preliminaries.
The finals of three field events, as well as seven running events on the women’s side are on Sunday’s docket. The Championships awards presentation will close the ceremonies at approximately 9:25 p.m. Fox Sports Network is set to televise Sunday’s final events on tape delay.
Junior Sarah Hudak and senior Lucy Taylor placed first and second, respectively, in their 1,500-meter heat, and fourth and fifth overall, respectively, to qualify for the finals. Hudak and Taylor crossed the line almost at the same time, with Hudak recording a time of 4:40.34 and Taylor finishing in 4:40.39.
Lauren Fayen will compete in the final 800-meters, after finishing fourth in the preliminaries with a season-best performance (2:10.18).
Both Rachel Harley and Lytrice Thomas qualified for the 400-meter hurdles finals. Harley hurdled to a personal-record time of 59.45 and Thomas logged a time of 1:02.27.
Angel Watson will race in the 200-meter final round, placing eighth in the preliminaries with a time of 23.98.
“We have girls in several finals and in position to score points for us tomorrow,” Thomas said. “Sarah and Lucy are set up well in the 1500m. Lauren has a great shot to score big in the 800m. The 400m hurdles will be a close race, and Rachel and Lytrice are ready for that. Angel is in a position to score in the 200m also.
“We have great opportunities in the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays to score big, as well as the 5K. It will be a busy day for us. I'm proud of how they've prepared and competed, and we need to bring it again tomorrow."
McSwain was two places away from qualifying for the 100-meter hurdle finals. She placed 12th with a time of 14.24 and freshman Jessica Shelley finished 14th with a personal-record 14.28.
Alexis Bates missed qualifying for the final round of the 100-meter dash by 1/1,000th of a second finishing in 11.894 behind Tulane’s Kasey Rodgers (11.892).
Thelyssa Katchen and Kyana White both turned in personal-record efforts, but it wasn’t enough to make it to the next round of the 400-meter dash. Katchen finished 12th (56.02) and White followed in 13th place (56.68).
Players Mentioned
