4x400 Team Qualifies Provisionally

Friday, February 9

Ames, Iowa

10:00 AM

Iowa State

Iowa State Classic

02.10.2007 | Track and Field, Track & Field (M)

By: Iowa State University

AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State men's track and field team concluded the ISU Classic on Saturday on a high note with the 4x400-meter relay team provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 3:09.77.

The relay squad consisting of freshman Jared Lewis, senior Elijah Braimah, sophomore James Robinson and senior Jared Graham finished fifth overall, recording one of the fastest times in the nation. The relay team from Kentucky won the race with a time of 3:07.21 to provisionally qualify.

“We ran pretty fast, but the guys all want to go better than that,” said head coach Steve Lynn. “With as physical as the race was, we almost got knocked down twice and still were able to run like we did. They all believe they have a chance to run a lot faster as the season goes on.”

Iowa State sophomore Brandon Rooney set a personal best in the mile run, recording a time of 4:04.04 and improving on his previous best by over four seconds. Rooney finished third in the race for his second consecutive meet.

“Brandon (Rooney) did a tremendous job,” said distance coach Corey Ihmels. “He executed the race plan perfectly. It wasn't a real surprise because I thought he was capable of running that fast. He's moved up the ladder a little bit and we'll keep training for the Big 12 meet in two weeks.”

Another season best came in the high jump, where newcomer Julian Morris registered a jump of 6-9 ¾. The two-time Minnesota state champion came into the competition with a prep best of 6-10. Morris tied for seventh overall in the competition Saturday after missing an attempt of 6-11 3/4. Scott Sellers of Kansas State took the title in the event with an ISU Classic meet record and NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 7-5 ¾.

“Julian (Morris) really showed some breakthrough today,” said jumps coach Ron McEachran. “That's only a quarter inch below his best height ever and he showed some signs of understanding the event better and breaking through on his technique. I was very encouraged by his performance.”

Freshman Guor Majak set a career best in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:15.15, finishing ninth in a field of 86 runners. The Concord, N.H., native shattered his career-best mark of 8:22.83, which he set earlier this season in a second-place finish at the ISU Open. Majak took the title in the ISU Classic's 5,000-meter run on Friday night.

“Guor (Majak) did a great job this weekend,” Ihmels said. “We tried to mimic what he'll do at the Big 12 meet, both the 3,000 and the 5,000 and he was solid in both. He won the 5,000 and then came back today and ran a strong race in the 3,000. It gave him a good idea of what he needs to do in two weeks. I'm excited about where he's at and we'll get back to training and get ready for the conference meet.”

The Iowa State men's track and field team will be back in action next Friday at the UNI Dome Open hosted by Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.