HICKMAN EXPECTING

In this edition:

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– U.S. men win Pan Am Cup 20 km, women finish second
– NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships wrap-up
– Raschker repeats in world record style
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U.S. men win Pan Am Cup 20 km, women finish second

Tim Seaman walked a season-best 1 hour 25 minutes and 24 seconds to lead Team USA to an upset win in the 20-kilometer competition Saturday at the 2003 Pan Am Cup in Chula Vista, Calif.

Team USA’s victory comes on the heels of a win in the team 50 km competition last Monday at the Pan Am Cup and provides an unprecedented sweep for the Americans.

The U.S. team won a tiebreaker to win the team 20 km title over Ecuador, who were led by 1996 Olympic Champion Jefferson Perez. Perez won the race in 1:23:12, while Seaman placed fourth overall.

Kevin Eastler finished behind Seaman in fifth place in 1:25:34. Other top American finishers included Sean Albert (11th-1:27:42), Curt Clausen (15th-1:30:45), John Nunn (17th-1:32:13) and Dave McGovern (19th-1:39:32).

In the women’s 20 km Sam Cohen finished seventh in 1 hour, 44 minutes, 56 seconds to lead the U.S. to a second-place finish. Mexico’s Rosario Sanchez won the race in 1:37:14 as Mexico won its third consecutive women’s title.

Top American finishers in the women’s race were Cohen (7th-1:44:56), Bobbi Jo Chapman (8th-1:45:47), Jolene Moore (9th-1:46:52), Cheryl Rellinger (10th-1:47:27) and Susan Armenta (11th-1:49:03).

In the men’s 50 km Pan Am Cup competition March 10 in Tijuana, Mexico, 2000 Olympian Philip Dunn’s second-place finish and fourth-place finish overall, led the American men’s squad to the overall team title for the first time.

NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships wrap-up

LSU sprinter Muna Lee led the Lady Tigers to their second consecutive team title by becoming the first woman in nine years to win the 60m/200m double at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships over the weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Lee broke the 21-year-old collegiate indoor 200m record Friday with her time of 22.49. She won the 60m title by coming from behind in 7.17 to edge Jamaican Elva Goulbourne of Auburn (7.24), who earlier won the long jump and triple jump.

The LSU women finished with 62 points, with Florida and South Carolina tied in the runner-up spot with 44. The Lady Tigers won their 10th NCAA indoor title and 24th overall track championship under coach Pat Henry.

In men’s competition, the host Arkansas Razorbacks easily won their 17th indoor championship and 37th track or cross country title for coach John McDonnell. The Hogs ran away with the team competition with 52 points for their first NCAA title since 2000. Auburn was a distant runner-up with 28 points, and Nebraska was third with 26 points.

South African Alistair Cragg defended his 5,000m title Friday in 13 minutes, 28.93 seconds, and led a 1-3 Arkansas finish in the 3,000 meters on Saturday to clinch the title with his winning time of 7:55.68. Cragg’s Arkansas teammate, Daniel Lincoln, placed third in 7:57.43.

At the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships Saturday in Boston, St. Augustine’s easily won the women’s team title with 73 points, while Abilene Christian successfully defended its men’s team crown with 58 points.

Abilene Christian was a distant runner-up in the women’s competition with 53 points followed by defending national champion North Dakota State with 41 points. Abilene Christian narrowly held on to the men’s title, with runner-up Western State finishing just four points behind. Cal State Bakersfield was third with 34 points.

St. Augustine’s swept the 400 meters as Wilan Louis won the men’s race in 47.67 seconds, while Libia Rodriquez captured the women’s crown in 53.83. Meet records in the 60 meters were posted by North Carolina Central’s Jason Smoots in the men’s race (6.55), and Lincoln’s Shandria Brown, who won the women’s competition in 7.43.

At the NCAA Division III Championships at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., the Wheaton (Massachusetts) College women’s team won its fifth consecutive crown, while the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men’s team won its third straight title

Wisconsin-La Crosse’s men’s team title was its tenth overall, winning the crown with a Division III record total of 71 points. Wisconsin-Oshkosh was the runner-up with 34 points, giving Wisconsin-LaCrosse the largest victory margin ever in Division III Championships competition. Nebraska Wesleyan was third with 27 points, with Gustavus Adolphus fourth with 23.

Wheaton totaled 54 points in winning its fifth straight championship in only the ninth season of the program. Lehman College was the runner-up with 48 points, followed by Williams College (3rd-42 points) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (4th-41 points).

For complete NCAA Indoor Championships coverage, visit www.ncaachampionships.org.

Raschker repeats in world record style

Masters legend Phil Raschker reportedly set a new indoor heptathlon world record in the women’s 55-59 age group by totaling 6,724 points at the USA Masters Indoor Heptathlon Championships March 8-9, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Raschker shattered her best mark from 2002 by 349 points. The indoor masters heptathlon features the 60m, 60m hurdles, 800m, high jump, pole vault, long jump and shot put.

Raschker now sets her sights on the 2003 USA Indoor National Masters Championships, March 28-30 in Boston.