June 21, 2003
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Three athletes with USC ties advanced to the World Championships, including volunteer assistant coach Allen Johnson who claimed his sixth U.S. Championship in the 110m hurdles. Carolina alums Demetria Washington (400m dash) and Terrence Trammell (110m hurdles) placed second in their events and will compete in Paris this August.
“It was a great day for USC with getting automatic qualifiers into the World Championships,” said head coach Curtis Frye. “I am excited that our group came through. We also have a chance to have a lot of our current athletes compete in International competition this summer, including at the junior level.”
Johnson edged Trammell in the 110m hurdles final by just one-hundredth of a second by posting a time of 13.37 in the battle of USC volunteer assistant coaches. The duo qualified for the World Championships and both advanced to the final after finishing second in their semifinal heats earlier in the day when Trammell ran a time of 13.32 and Johnson a 13.43.
“I saw Terrence coming up next to me during the race, but I did not know it was him at the time,” said Johnson. “It was a race to the finish and I dipped at the line for the win.”
Corey Taylor ran a time semifinal time of 13.89 and did not reach the 110m hurdles final.
“I have no regrets,” said Taylor. “The other hurdlers are great athletes and I was competing against the very best.”
Washington took second place to advance to her second World Championships in the 400m dash with a final time of 51.54 behind only Sonya Richards of Texas, the 2003 NCAA Champion, who posted a time of 51.01. Former Gamecock Lisa Barber finished fifth in the event with a time of 52.04. The USC alumni advanced to the final with top four semifinal finishes as Washington ran a 51.91 for second and Barber had a 52.53 for fourth. Miki Barber ran a time of 54.23 and did not qualify for the event final.
“Coming in I was focused on finishing in the top three and going to the World Championships,” said Washington. “I had tough competition in this race and am happy to go on and compete at the Worlds.”
Carolina volunteer assistant coach Melissa Morrison ran a first round time of 13.03 in the 100m hurdles. She had the second-best time of the round, just three-thousandths of a second behind Gail Devers’ leading time, to move on to the event semifinals on Sunday.
Tony Allmond followed his runner-up long jump finish at the NCAA Championships by posting a mark of 25′ 2.75″ to finish seventh in the USATF final. Chelsea Hammond placed 17th in the women’s long jump final with a mark of 19′ 8.75″.
USC alumnus Bert Sorin placed 12th in the men’s hammer throw after recording a mark of 65.64m/215’4″.
USATF JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
A pair of USC long jumpers each placed third to highlight Saturday’s competition at the USATF Junior Championships on the campus of Stanford University.
Kemesha Whitmire placed third in the women’s junior long jump with a mark of 19’11.5″ while Greig Cryer took third on the men’s side with a jump of 24′ 1.75″. Both athletes will be the first alternate on the USA Junior National Team.
“I felt like I had a chance to win but I faulted on four of six attempts,” said Cryer. “I cannot complain and am grateful for what I got.”
Kenneth Ferguson won his 110m hurdles heat to advance to the event final on Sunday. His time of 14.23 was third best in the first round. Later in the evening, in the 400m hurdles, the freshman posted the best first round time, 51.38, to advance to Sunday’s final.
“I feel good right now and am taking each round step by step,” said Ferguson. “I’ve got two events to compete in and have been able to reach the finals in both.”
Tawana Watkins ran 400m hurdles time of 59.52, best in the first round, to advance to the event final on Sunday.
USC signee Stephanie Smith finished fifth in the 200m dash with a time of 24.00. Earlier in the day, she was second in her 200m dash heat with a time of 24.22. She later posted a time of 54.23 in the 400m dash for the third best time of the first round and will compete in Sunday’s final.
The U.S. Championships conclude Sunday in Palo Alto with espn2 televising the final day’s events live on from 4-5:30 p.m. EDT. Complete USATF Championship schedules and results can be found at www.usatf.org.
