10.06.2009

Eight Australians fly the flag in Fayetteville

The next generation of track and field stars are all set to battle it out at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this week, with eight Australians in action across the four-day event.  

Lining up for their crack at the NCAA titles are Victorians Shawn Forrest (Arkansas, 10,000m), Matt Gibney (Villanova, 1500m) and David McNeill (Northern Arizona, 5000m), ACT representative Zoe Buckman (Oregon, 800m), Queenslanders Genevieve LaCaze (Florida, 5000m) and Simon Wardhaugh (Boise State, hammer throw), Tasmanian Ryan Foster (Penn State, 800m) and Western Australian Megan Wheatley (Nebraska, heptathlon).

The championships have been home to a number of Aussie victories in recent years, most notably in 2005 when Victoria Mitchell (steeplechase) and Fabrice Lapierre (long jump) took out their respective events before going on to represent Australia at the Beijing Olympic Games.  

First in action at Fayetteville this week is Simon Wardhaugh, who kicks off the Aussie charge in the qualifying rounds of the hammer throw.

Wardhaugh enters the competition with the sixth-best throw of the year to his name and the furthest by any Australian in 2009, heaving the hammer 68.29m in Utah last month.

The 23-year-old Boise State representative will be looking to throw over 70m this week, a result that should see him place well up in the event and close in on the 71.92m effort that leads this year’s college rankings.

Zoe Buckman will be the first Australian to hit the track when she lines up for Oregon University in the 800m.

Following her fourth placing in the two-lap event last year, Buckman will be looking to make a bigger impact on the track in 2009. With three rounds to contest to take out the title, Buckman will be looking to draw on her experience from last year and her increased fitness levels, which have seen her post a new personal best time over 1500m this year.

Also lining up in the 800m is Ryan Foster, a former world youth steeplechase representative who will be needing a good run to make the semi finals and progress through to Friday’s final.

Entering the meet ranked 21st, Foster has drawn a heat alongside five runners who have posted season best times within a second of each other.

One of the largest track and field meets in the USA, the NCAA Championships are one of few meets in the world that runs heats of the 5000m.

Two Australians will line up in the qualifying rounds, Florida University student Genevieve LaCaze the first in action.

Qualifying as a non-automatic selection at the NCAA regional meet, LaCaze enters the event ranked 19th on the back of a stellar freshman season that saw her named South Eastern Conference Freshman Runner of the Year, and is a genuine chance to round out her season with a new personal best time.

Fellow Australian and reigning Zatopek champion David McNeill will also contest the heats of the 5000m and as fourth-fastest starter, is a genuine chance to move through to the weekend’s final as one of six automatic qualifiers.

The 22-year-old Victorian will face tough competition in his heat, lining up alongside second-fastest qualifier Hassan Mead and US Olympian Galen Rupp in what could be a quick race.

Albury boy Matt Gibney will run in the third and final heat of the men’s 1500m, entering the race on the back of a great season that saw him anchor Villanova to a berth at the national indoor championships in the distance medley relay and then anchor a win in the same event at the Penn Relays.

Ranked 13th on the college ladder and with just two rounds of the 1500m on the schedule, Gibney will need to be on his game to secure a spot in the final.

Following the recent retirement of Kylie Wheeler, Megan Wheatley will be looking to take over the mantle of Australia’s best female all-rounder, starting in Fayetteville this week.

With the World University Games just weeks away and on the back of a personal best performance (5800 points) at her NCAA conference meet and fourth place at a recent indoor pentathlon event, Wheatley will be chasing a top three finish and world championships B-qualifying result of 5900 points, a tally that would see her move into the top 10 all-time Australian list.

Competing on his home track at Fayetteville, Arkansas University’s Shawn Forrest will be hoping to go one better than last year’s second place over 10,000m.

Forrest will face some tough competition from Olympian Galen Rupp, who will be looking to cap a stellar senior year with a treble of individual and team wins in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track events.

The pair will be joined for the 25 laps of the track by collegiate record holder Sam Chelenga in what should be one of the headline events of the meet.

Aussies in action:

Simon Wardhaugh - Hammer throw
Qualifying: Wednesday 10:30AM (Thursday 1:30AM)
Final: Friday 1:00PM (Saturday 4:00AM)

Ryan Foster - 800m
Qualifying: Wednesday 5:45PM (Thursday 8:45AM)
Semi-finals: Thursday 7:25PM (Friday 10:25AM)
Final: Saturday 12:28PM (Sunday 3:28AM)

Matt Gbney - 1500m
Semi-finals: Thursday 8:10PM (Friday 11:10AM)
Finals: Saturday 1:21PM (Sunday 4:21AM)

David McNeill - 5000m
Qualifying: Wednesday 9:25PM (Thursday 12:25PM)
Final: Friday 8:40PM (Saturday 11:40AM)

Shawn Forrest - 10,000m
Final: Thursday 9:45PM (Friday 12:45PM)

Zoe Buckman - 800m
Qualifying: Wednesday 5:30PM (Thursday 8:30AM)
Semi-finals: Thursday 7:15PM (Friday 10:15AM)
Final: Saturday 12:19PM (Sunday 3:19AM)

Genevieve LaCaze - 5000m
Qualifying: Wednesday 8:40PM (Thursday 11:40AM)
Final: Friday 8:15PM (Saturday 11:15AM)

Megan Wheatley - Heptathlon
Day one: Thursday from 11:15AM (Friday from 2:15AM)
Day two: Friday from 1:45PM (Saturday from 4:45AM)

(Times in brackets are AEST, all other times are local)

For a full schedule of events, click here.

For live footage from Fayetteville, click here.

With thanks to Tom O'Shaughnessy