Jeshua Anderson breaks 48 seconds in winning first USA outdoor title...

EUGENE--Washington State University senior Jeshua Anderson (left/photo by Mike Scott) added the USA national title to his three career NCAA titles as the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships concluded at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.

Anderson took command of the race early, and had to dive across the line to hold off the charge of Bershawn Jackson, as both were credited with identical times of 47.93 (47.921 for Anderson; 47.930 for Jackson).

Former Olympic champion Angelo Taylor earned the final spot with his time of 47.94.

Anderson, a senior from Woodland Hills, Calif., broke through the 48-seconds barrier for the first time with his winning time.

Anderson, coached by WSU's Mark Macdonald, had run the top times in both the prelim and the semifinal races at the 2011 USA Championships. The three-time NCAA champion and school record-holder, Anderson had run the previous USA-leading time of 48.13 this spring in Tucson winning his fourth consecutive Pacific-10 Conference title. Only LJ van Zyl (South Africa) has run a faster intermediate hurdles time this year at 47.66.

They will join defending world champion Kerron Clement on the plane to Daegu.

Afterwards, he told reporters, “This is something I’ve been working towards for a long time. I’ve been preparing to run my best race at USA’s. I gave it my all, I’m so thankful to have won.”

"My dad told me before I ran the final to `hit that finish line like you're running for a deep ball' and that's what I did," Anderson said.

Jackson, affectionately known by his nickname of "Batman", said, “This is probably the closest race I’ve been in, in my whole career. It was definitely a close race.”

Courtesy of media partner RunnerSpace.com, here is video of Anderson's victory:



In the 100 meter hurdles, Rainier Beach HS grad Ginnie Powell finished fourth in a time of 12.76, as Kellie Wells (12.50), Danielle Carruthers (12.59) and reigning Olympic champion Dawn Harper (12.65) took the first three places.

With the conclusion of the USA championships, Anderson joins Bernard Lagat (5000m; he has a spot in the 1500, but will not run it in Daegu), Kara Patterson (javelin), Aretha Thurmond (discus), Jarred Rome (discus), Michael Mai (hammer), and Mike Sayenko (marathon) as Americans with Washington ties going to Daegu for the world championships in two months.

Michael Berry's fifth place finish in the 400 could possibly earn him a spot on the USA 4 x 400 relay pool if the coaching staff selects him.


Complete results from the final day of competition are available here.