May 25, 2007

Results

WASHINGTON - Senior Dustin Emrani won his heat of the 800m to highlight the first day of the NCAA East Regional for the American University men's track team at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. Emrani will continue his quest to the NCAA Championships tomorrow in the 800m final.

Emrani made his third and last performance in the NCAA East Regional preliminary rounds his best, running away from the field to win his heat in 1:49.18 - the second-fastest time of his career. Emrani will race tomorrow at 6:55 p.m. He'll need to finish in the top-five to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.

"I was in the back of the pack, around 450 meters I got tripped up and I almost came to a stop," Emrani said. "As soon as it happened I kind of woke up and moved up. I took the lead with 200m to go and powered away the last 100m." As for tomorrow, the AU senior has already worked out his strategy. "I know what I'm supposed to do. I'm going to get to the front and stay there. I had no problem making up for the lost ground today and the last 200 I felt great."

The rest of the AU squad struggled on the first day, failing to advance in their heats and finals. In the 1500m, Steve Hallinan ran well, but was just outside of the qualifiers in 18th place with a time of 3:49.00, while Carlos Jamieson was 29th in 4:01.18. In the 5000m, Brendan Fennell and Awit Yohannes took 19th and 24th, respectively. Fennell had been with the top pack until five laps to go when he fell off the pace and dropped out of qualifying contention.

"We were disappointed with our performances," head coach Matt Centrowitz said. "The kids tried their best it didn't work out. For some it was their first experience."

Emrani returns to competition tomorrow for the 800 meter final. Check back with AUEagles.com for results and recap.