Texas Tech Athletics
NCAA Championships
High Hopes Turn to Heartbreak at NCAA Track Championships
June 14, 2003 | Track and Field
June 14, 2003
Sacramento, Calif. -
The final day of the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships started off with junior Jason Young placing fourth in the discus and ended without a national champion as a photo finish in the 800 and a sixth-place finish in the 4x400 placed Tech in a tie at No. 17.
Young's first throw of the day traveled 194-feet, 5-inches and would prove to be his best fling of the day.
All that stood between Texas Tech and a top 10 finish was finishing in the top two of the 1,600-meter relay. With the Red Raiders setting the Hornet Stadium record just two nights ago Tech looked ready to run.
"My dream was to finish in the top ten," stated Kittley. "I was going to be happy with a top 15 finish, but certainly did not want to fall out of the top 20. This was a good start. I wish we had had a better showing in the four-by-four, but this has really been an awesome year and I am very proud of everyone who competed this year."
Kittley went with the team that got Tech to the championships. Matt Stewart ran the lead leg of the race and kept the Red Raiders in the hunt with a 46.7 split before giving way to the lone senior on the team Julieon Raeburn. The Trincity, Trinidad, native took the stick and had to fight his way through the mix at the break line. The fighting took its tool on Raeburn as Tech found itself in eighth-place heading into the third leg.
Things looked bleak at that point for Tech as Jonathan Johnson had run the 800 just an hour earlier.
"I wasn't tired," noted Johnson. "Coach Kittley has me peaking at the right time and I am stronger than I have ever been. I knew I had to put it all on the line and go for it."
What Johnson did was take Tech from last to second-place via a 44.5 split, a personal record for the Abilene, Texas, native. With Albert Booker running the anchor Tech looked like it would secure a top 10 finish. But the sophomore showed a bit of his youth as he tried to catch and pass LSU's Kelly Willie at the 200-meter mark.
The energy needed to fight for the lead ended up costing Booker as he was unable to maintain the blazing fast pace of his first 200 and started to fall back as the team finished with a sixth-place clocking of 3:04.76.
In scoring three points, the men's team finished tied for 17th with SMU with a meet total of 16 points.
"I had no doubts that Jonathan would give us all he had," commented Kittley. "I knew he would do good, maybe not that good."
Johnson entered the finals of the 800-meter run with the fastest preliminary time of the nine-athlete field. The sophomore raced out to the lead at the break line and came through the first lap in a time of 51.74. With Penn's Sam Burley trailing Johnson by no more than two steps the entire way, the duo managed to run away from the rest of the field. At the 500-meter mark Burley started to make his move to the outside. Johnson and Burley would come down the home stretch stride-for-stride. When the dust had settled a photo finish would go in favor of Burley as Johnson was edged out 1:46.50 to 1:16.51. Johnson becomes the first male athlete to place higher than third at the NCAA Championships in school history.
"I felt good and relaxed. I came through the first 400 in 51.5 like coach Kittley and I had talked about. [Burley] started to come up on me at the end and I knew we were in a fight. I honestly thought I had won, it was that close."
"I think we just ran out of gas this weekend," said Kittley. "We have really pushed these kids hard all year and they responded. We only lose one senior from the crew that was here and I feel like we have some great leadership and depth coming back."
