TURLOCK, Calif. - Alaska Anchorage senior David Registe earned his third career All-America accolade in the long jump at the 2011 NCAA Div. II Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday, while sophomore Ruth Keino claimed All-America honors in the 10,000 meters.
The Seawolves combined for six points (5 men's, 1 women's) following the conclusion of two final events -- the men's long jump and the women's 10,000 meters. In the prelims, four Seawolves advanced to the finals -- juniors Alfred Kangogo and Miriam Kipng'eno and freshman Ivy O'Guinn, all in the 1500 meters, and sophomore Micah Chelimo in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Registe, from Palmer (Colony HS), recorded a jump of 24 feet, 11.25 inches, good for fourth place and All-America honors. Registe, who won the long jump in 2008 and finished runner-up in 2009 at the NCAAs, registered his best jump on his fourth leap of the day. Winning the title early on in the event was Cal State Los Angeles' Giorgio Bryant with a personal best of 26-01.5.
A native of Kapcheno, Kenya, Keino raced to a school record in the 10,000 meters with a new time of 34 minutes, 30.53 seconds. Finishing eighth, Keino garnered her first All-America accolade in track & field, besting her previous record of 34:57.41, which she set on April 14 of this year.
Setting another UAA record in the prelims was Kipng'eno in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:30.36. That time bypassed the old record of 4:31.86. Kipng'eno, from Eldoret, Kenya, finished the prelims in fifth place to advance to the finals on Saturday. Joining Kipng'eno in the 1500-meter final will be O'Guinn (Soldotna), who finished 11th in the event with a time of 4:32.70.
Qualifying on the men's side was Kangogo (Eldoret, Kenya), who finished second in his heat and overall in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:55.23, while Chelimo cruised to the finals in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with the ninth-fastest prelim time at 9:03.24.
Meanwhile, competing for UAA in the 400-meter hurdles was junior Shaun Ward and freshman Haleigh Lloyd. Ward took 13th in the prelims with a time of 53.44, while Lloyd was 16th in her NCAA debut with a time of 1:02.23.
After the conclusion of three events, the Seawolf men stand in 9th place in the team standings with Registe's five points, while the women are tied for 19th with Keino's one point.
Action continues Friday for the Seawolves with freshmen Susan Bick and O'Guinn in the 800 meters at 5:30 p.m. ADT and the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 7:05 p.m. ADT. The rest of the events will be contested Saturday.
