Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Russell Weaver Moves On To Finals; Webb and Christianson Eliminated
6/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 8, 2005
CLICK HERE for NCAA Championships Day 1 Results
FRESNO, Calif.- Senior Russell Weaver advanced to the national pole vault final with a standout performance on Wednesday night during the opening day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Weaver was one of 13 participants to clear 16-10.75 (5.15m) and moves on to Friday's final competition. Should Weaver finish among the top-eight, he will earn All-America status. Friday's final round is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Making his NCAA Championships debut, Weaver punched his ticket to Sacramento via an at-large berth. His personal-best mark of 17-6.50 (5.35m) recorded on Apr. 16 at the Mt. SAC Relays stood up as one of the nation's top heights.
Also on Wednesday, sophomore Mallory Webb was eliminated from contention after she finished 17th overall in the prelims of the javelin. Webb's second of three throws (150-3/45.79m) turned out to be her best effort on the evening. Virginia's Inge Jorgensen tallied the top distance at 172-10 (52.68m).
Webb, who finished seventh nationally last year to earn All-America honors as a freshman, threw a season-best 160-9 (49.00m) at NCAA Regionals to automatically qualify for NCAA Championships. In every meet this season, she either equaled or bettered the NCAA Regional qualifying standard while notching five first-place finishes in the process.
Senior Katie Christianson's impressive season came to an end late Wednesday night in the long jump preliminaries. Two weeks ago at NCAA Regionals, she recorded a personal-best mark of 20-3 (6.17m) to earn an NCAA Championships berth.
In Wednesday's qualifying round, Christianson finished 23rd overall and 12th in her flight when she reached 19-5.25 (5.92m) on her third and final attempt. Tennessee's Tianna Madison led all entrants with a mark of 22-0.25 (6.71m).
A gold medalist in the heptathlon at WAC Championships, Christianson led the Bulldogs in the long jump and the 100-meter hurdles (14.19). She reached distances of 19-0 or better in the long jump on seven different occasions this year while notching three first-place finishes.
Senior Chris Berrian is the only Fresno State athlete in action on Thursday, as he begins his quest for All-America status in the 200-meters. The prelims of that event begin at 5:05 p.m., followed by the semifinals at 7:10 p.m.
