Rotich Takes Seventh Place at the NCAA Championships

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Iowa State senior David Rotich topped the day for the Cyclones by taking seventh place in the 1,500-meter run at the 2006 NCAA outdoor track and field championships held in Sacramento, Calif.

"It started out slow paced, but picked up real quick," said men's head coach Steve Lynn. "David (Rotich) was up near the front the whole race, but it was tight all the way through. It was a tactical race early and a hard race late. He wanted to win, but just died in the last 100 meters. He went out and tried his hardest and did a really great job."

Rotich ran the race in 3:45.50 to finish out his senior track season. Vincent Rono of South Alabama won the race with a time of 3:44.07. Rotich will compete for the Iowa State cross country team in the fall.

Senior Erica Lynn (Ames) finished out her career at Iowa State with a 23rd-place finish in the heptathlon. Lynn's final score in the event was 4,948 points. Today's heptathlon events included the long jump (18-10 ?), the javelin throw (110-11) and the 800-meter run (2:38.06).

"Coming to nationals can be a real eye opening experience and sometimes it takes awhile to get comfortable," said sprints and hurdles coach Scott Roberts. "Yesterday her (Lynn) first two events were a little shaky and then she was able to get going. Today she was real solid until the 800 where she was hurt with a pulled hamstring that affected her."

Chase Madison, who finished 11th in the discus throw on Friday, was chosen Saturday to represent the United States at the Under 23 World Championships to be held in the Dominican Republic later this summer. Madison will throw the discus for the competition.