LIVE RESULTS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Vincent Rono, came from 30 meters back to out-kick Florida State's Tom Lancashire for the title in a time of 3:44.07. It is the first-ever Outdoor Championship for a South Alabama athlete. Rono, who broke the late David Kimani's school record in the 1500m (3:40.19) in Thursday's semifinal, trailed most of the race, but used his tremendous closing speed to run down the Seminole in the last few meters of the race. The win brings his unbeaten streak to eight races.
"It was a lot of hard work and dedication," distance coach Ron Davis said, "It's been difficult, but all the workouts paid off today."
Kimani was the last Jaguar finalist, prior to this season, finishing fourth at the 2000 Outdoor Nationals. He won two Indoor titles that same year (3000m, 5000m) and was the Cross Country champion in the fall of 1999.
Rono won the Mideast Regional Championship at 1500m two weeks ago. The Bomet, Kenya native was also the Sun Belt Outdoor Champion at 1500m and 10,000m. During the indoor season, Rono snatched the 800m, mile, 3000m, and 5000m championships and was named the SBC Most Outstanding Runner of the Meet. In the fall, the junior-transfer was the Sun Belt cross country champion, fifth at the South Regional meet, and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Fellow junior Ajoke Odumosu was disqualified in the finals of the 400m hurdles. Odumosu failed to properly clear the seventh hurdle, negating her eighth place finish and All-American status. The No.2-ranked junior in the world ran a lifetime best 56.09 in the semifinals on Friday, improving her Jaguar and Sun Belt Conference record in the event.
On Friday, South Alabama's Tonny Okello became the first Jaguar All-American in Outdoor Track and Field since Kimani. Okello was eighth in the 5000m, running a time of 14:21.09. The Lira, Uganda native earned All-American honors in cross country in the fall of 2004 and 2005 and finished ninth with the distance medley relay team during this past indoor season.
With just two athletes competing, South Alabama's men's team compiled 11 points to tie with Minnesota, UCLA, and Washington for 22nd of the 69 schools that scored. The Jags also beat seven of the Top-25 ranked teams in the country according to Trackwire.com, incuding No.12 South Carolina and No.13 Florida. Trackwire.com is one of the nation's leading track and field websites.
Among the Mideast Region teams, the Jaguars finished behind only LSU (second overall, 51 points), Arkansas (fifth, 33), Tennessee (sixth, 32), and Indiana (15th, 15). South Alabama was 13th at the Regional Championships two weeks ago. Sun Belt Conference champion Middle Tennessee State was eighth in Knoxville, Tenn., but finished tied for 40th with Auburn, Mississippi, and three others, scoring five points in Sacramento.
