June 26, 2010

DES MOINES, Iowa – Reigning NCAA champion and The Bowerman 10 candidate Johnny Dutch of South Carolina continues to dazzle in his record-breaking junior season after collecting his second consecutive USA Outdoor Championship silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles.

Dutch continued his unbeaten streak against collegiate competition in taking second Saturday afternoon at a time of 47.63 – a mark that officially goes down as not only the second-fastest time in the world this year but also the second-fastest collegiate mark of all-time. Dutch’s run ranks only behind Saturday’s gold medalist (Bershawn Jackson – 47.32) on the world list and moves him up to right behind Kerron Clement on the all-time collegiate list, who ran 47.65 in the 2005 season.

Dutch, who last week was announced as a candidate for The Bowerman, awarded to the top male collegiate athlete in track and field, also qualified to compete in the 110-meter hurdle preliminary round but did not race after earning his silver medal. Former teammate and 2008 NCAA champion Jason Richardson won his heat and claimed second overall in the preliminary round with a time of 13.61 to advance.

Former Gamecock Natasha Hastings placed third in the 400-meter dash final at 50.53. A 2008 Olympic gold medalist, Hastings improves on her fourth-place finish at the 2009 USA Championships.

Two Gamecock affiliated athletes advanced in the men’s 200-meter dash preliminary. Olympian Rodney Martin won the preliminary round with a time of 20.62, while another Olympian, Leroy Dixon, took seventh at 21.02. Junior Antonio Sales qualified for nationals but did not compete.

On the women’s side, Shalonda Solomon, Natasha Hastings and Lisa Barber were scheduled to run the 200-meter dash late Saturday, however, the event was canceled.

The final day of competition begins tomorrow, and the first Gamecock on the track will be Rodney Martin in the 200-meter dash at 12:05 p.m. The USA Outdoor Championships will be televised live from 1-2:30 p.m. on ESPN and 3-4 p.m. on NBC.