DES MOINES, Iowa – Lady Tiger great and international superstar Lolo Jones has returned to her hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend with her sights set on winning a national championship in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium.
And she got off to a fast start on Friday afternoon while running the fastest time in the preliminary rounds with a time of 12.82 seconds run into a strong headwind of 1.2 meters per second.
Jones advanced to the semifinal round that is scheduled to run Saturday at 1:15 p.m. CDT. If she qualifies for the final, she will run for that national championship at 2:52 p.m.
Jones is a heavy favorite to take the title at this year’s USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships as she entered the meet with the fastest wind-legal time in the world this season at 12.55. She clocked the world-leading time in a win two weeks ago at the adidas Grand Prix in New York.
A pair of LSU 800-meter runners were also impressive in Friday’s semifinal action at Drake Stadium with departing seniors LaTavia Thomas and Richard Jones earned a spot in the finals to be run Sunday beginning at 1:50 p.m. Thomas was the sixth-fastest qualifier of the women’s semifinal with a clocking of 2:02.26, while Jones with the eighth-fastest qualifier in the men’s semifinal with a time of 1:46.90.
Two-time NCAA champion Walter Henning ended his 2010 season on Friday with a seventh-place finish in the men’s hammer throw with a top mark of 234 feet, 9 inches recorded on his second attempt of the competition. Henning was most recently crowned the NCAA hammer throw champion at the 2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships held two weeks ago in Eugene. Ore.
Just this week, Henning was named one of 10 male student-athletes under final consideration for the 2010 Bowerman Award. The list will be cut to three finalists in the week of July 12.