May 16, 2007

SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State junior Adam Smith has earned a chance to compete in the men's 400-meter dash at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held May 24-26 at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C.

Smith, a Mount Pleasant, Mich., native who earned all-America status in February at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, qualified 11th in the ourdoor 400 dash. His set his seed time of :47.13 on May 4 in Midland. While competing alongside Olympians during an elite meet last weekend at Georgia Tech, Smith was on pace to improve that time when his shoe became untied.

LSSU freshman Katie Smith is ranked 20th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and did not qualify for the NCAA Championships. Only the top 18 competitors advanced.

"She just missed the national meet for the third time this season (including cross country and indoor track)," LSSU track coach Steve Eles said. "She had a great freshman year, however, and we expect her to make it to nationals next season, hopefully in all three sports."

Last spring, Smith's fastest outdoor time was :47.91, and he failed to break into the top 16. He finished sixth in the 400 during the 2007 indoor nationals.

Men's 400-meter dash national top 18
1. Joel Stallworth, CS Stanislaus, :46.09
2. Hafiz Greigre, Bryant, :46.37
3. Kyle Rose, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, :46.42
4. Hakeem Mohammed, NC Central, :46.51
5. Karjaun Williams, NC Central, :46.64
6. Andre Thompson, St. Augustine's, :46.78
7. Brian Ryman, Ashland, :46.80
8. Adalberto Amador, PR-Rio Piedras, :46.83
9. Johnny Jacob, Abilene Christian, :46.85
10. Andrew Grange, Mass.-Lowell, :46.89
11. Adam Smith, Lake Superior State, :47.13
12. Eric Simmons, Clayton State, :47.13
13. Tyler Logan, Southern Arkansas, :47.25
14. Antoine Thomas, Albany State, :47.26
15. Brandon Hartley, Morehouse, :47.33
16. Doug Caves, Mass.-Lowell, :47.46
17. Olaidipo Adeshina, Albany State, :47.56
18. Anthony Flournoy, Indianapolis, :47.61