Taylor Advances at NCAA Track Championships
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
June 3, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State junior Ryan Taylor (Melbourne, Australia) ran in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals on Thursday night at the 1999 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships in Boise, Idaho. Taylor placed seventh in his heat with a time of 9:01.70 and earned a spot in the event finals. The steeplechase finals will be held on Saturday at 8:25 p.m. MDT.
To advance in the steeplechase, Taylor had to place in the top four of his heat or run one of the next four best times in either heat. Taylor's semifinals time made him the last runner to qualify for the finals. On Saturday, he will attempt to earn All-America honors by placing in the top eight.
This is the third consecutive NCAA Track Championship in which Taylor has competed. At the 1998 Outdoor Championship, Taylor ran in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, but did not advance out of his heat. This past spring, Taylor placed 16th at 3,000 meters in the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Taylor provisionally qualified for the 1999 NCAA Outdoor Championships on May 1, at the Central Collegiate Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. His time of 8:44.53 set a school record. At the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Taylor finished second in the steeplechase at 8:58.06.
3,000 meter steeplechase Heat 1 1. Tom Reese (Colorado) 8:53.00* 2. Matt Kerr (Arkansas) 8:54.22* 3. Micah Davis (Oregon) 8:54.25* 4. Anthony Famiglietti (Tennessee) 8:54.28* 5. Carlos Suarez-Gonzales (UTEP) 8:54.29* 6. Travis Armstrong (Boise State) 8:54.86* 7. RYAN TAYLOR (MSU) 9:01.70* 8. Ian Connor (Ohio State) 9:12.06 9. Steve Slattery (Colorado) 9:23.69 Heat 2 1. Adam Batliner (Colorado) 8:55.73* 2. Todd Davis (Portland) 8:56.22* 3. Tom Chorny (Indiana) 8:56.29* 4. Billy Herman (North. Arizona) 8:56.37* 5. Chuck Sloan (Oklahoma State) 8:56.42* 6. Jared Cordes (Wisconsin) 9:04.06 7. Cesar Perez-Segovia (UTEP) 9:05.14 8. Eric Pierce (Minnesota) 9:12.14 9. Andrew Hennessy (Okla. State) 9:19.83 10. Jeff Wilson (Brigham Young) 9:28.47*-Advances to finals.
