WSU's Jeshua Anderson advances to NCAA 400 hurdles final with fastest time in semis...

EUGENE, Oregon--Day 1 of the NCAA track & field championships concluded, with Washington State's Jeshua Anderson (left/photo by Mike Scott) cruising through the semi-finals of the 400 hurdles with the fastest time of the day.

Anderson, who had been running using a 13-stride pattern throughout most of the season, ran 49.21 to earn the top seed for Friday night's final.

In the mixed zone, Anderson said, "I have been working on alternating my lead leg. Today I ran 13 strides through 9 hurdles. I exerted a little more energy than I wanted to. It worked out and now I have a day to rest."

When asked what it will take to win the NCAA title for a third time, especially with a field that includes rival Johnny Dutch of South Carolina, and Stanford's Amaechi Morton, he said, "I don't think it's going to be a limit for anybody. I think a world record could be done on this track"

Mark Macdonald, the Washington State hurdles coach, said, "Jeshua looked very good today but so did Johnny Dutch and Amaechi Morton. On Friday, Jeshua needs to focus on his lane and run his race. He's ready."

Here's the video of the interview with Anderson in the mixed zone:



In other events, Wasihngton State's Anna Layman finished sixth in her heat of the 800, running 2:07.60. Bellingham's Becca Friday was fifth in her heat of the 800, running 2:09.13.

In the men's 100 meters, Washington's James Alaka ran 10.37 to finish sixth in his heat.

In the women's high jump finals, Washington State freshman Holly Parent failed to clear the opening height. Many of the first several jumpers in the 24-woman field were put at a competitive disadvantage as they were jumping in a heavy rain.

Washington's Anita Campbell, who was in the lead group for the first six kilometers, finished 15th in her final race as a Husky, running 33:44.57, one spot behind former Eastern Washington runner Mattie Bridgmon, now running for host Oregon, who clocked 33:43.64.

Thursday's finals include the men's pole vault with Pac-10 champ Ryan Vu and reigning NCAA Indoor champ Scott Roth of Washington; day 1 of the decathlon featuring the Huskies' Jeremy Taiwo; the women's hammer with Gabby Midles of Idaho, who attended high school in Camas; and the men's javelin with Washington's Kyle Nielsen and Joe Zimmerman.

On the track, Washington's James Alaka goes in the men's 200 semis, while Falesha Ankton of the Huskies goes in the 100 hurdles semi-finals. Washington's Katie Follett runs in the women's 1500 semis, while her teammate Mel Lawrence runs in the semis of the steeplechase. Arizona's Abdi Hassan, who graduated from Seattle's Nathan Hale HS, will run in the men's 1500 semis. Distance finals Thursday include the men's 10000 featuring Bellingham's Jake Riley from Stanford.

Day 1 results can be obtained here, while start lists for the men are here, and the women can be seen here.