June 14, 2008

4:30 UPDATE: Ty Akins just missed defending his title, finishing second. The Tiger men will end up finishing tied for second with LSU with 44 points, which makes this the fourth time since 2000 that the Auburn men finished in the top three. The women finished tied for 15th, as LSU came from behind to take the women's crown.

A complete recap will be coming to the website soon.

4:00 UPDATE: Cory Martin just became the second Auburn athlete to win two titles at one NCAA outdoor meet, winning on his final throw for the second day in a row. Martin's win gives Auburn a chance to still finish in second place, depending on Ty Akins' performance in the 110m hurdles coming up in a couple of minutes.

3:30 UPDATE: The first three throws of the men's shot put are complete, and Cory Martin sits in third place entering the finals. Each competitor will have three more throws once the finals begin.

Florida State picked up five more points earlier today in the triple jump to expand its lead. The Tigers may be fighting for second or third place at this point.

The weather is windy but beautiful yet again. Storms pushed back a few field events during the opening day, but since then, we've had great weather with highs in the upper 70s and low 80s.

1:30 PM: The final day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is here, and so far it has been an excellent meet for Auburn. The Tigers had seven people earn All-American honors Friday, and the best indication of how well the team performed was that all eight finalists either finished where they were ranked or better. Not one of the eight finished worse than their pre-meet seeding, which is really difficult to achieve.

The men's team has 26 points and is in third place, trailing only Florida State (32) and LSU (31). It would seem that FSU is in the driver's seat, with four top-ranked performers or relays competing today. Auburn and LSU have two each. Auburn's two competitors are Cory Martin, who will throw the shot put at 3 p.m., and Ty Akins, who is running in the finals of the 110m hurdles at 4:20 p.m. Martin had the top mark in the prelims and Akins had the fastest time in the semifinals and is the defending champion, so they could score quite a few points, but it will be tough to catch the Seminoles. However, one of the four team trophies is definitely within reach.

The women's team is done for the meet, finishing with 14 points. That might not sound like a lot, but consider that the six women who competed, none of whom are seniors, were picked to score just three points had they finished where they were seeded. Only two would have earned All-American honors, yet four accomplished that goal. So the Auburn staff is certainly happy with their performance, and the 13 points could be enough for a Top 25 finish.

Another reminder that you can watch live coverage of the meet today from 3-5 p.m. on CBS.

And to put your mind at rest if you saw the news about the levee breaking early this morning in Des Moines and the flooding that ensued, the flooding is not near the downtown area where the team is staying, nor is it near Drake University. It's obviously a tragic situation for many people in Des Moines, but the Auburn team and staff is in no danger. The river levels have actually started to drop after cresting yesterday afternoon, dropping about a foot and a half by this morning, so hopefully the worst is behind us all.