NCAA Track and Field Championships : SMU Barely Edges Washington State for Title

Southern Methodist raced to victory in the final 1,600-meter relay and won the men’s team title by one point over Washington State in the NCAA track and field championships, despite a fine performance by the Cougars’ Gabriel Tiacoh Saturday night at Indianapolis.

Tiacoh, the Olympic silver medalist, ran the men’s 400 meters in 44.30 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year.

But his effort was in vain as the Cougars finished second for the third consecutive year.

SMU, taking its second NCAA title--the Mustangs also won in 1983--needed a victory in the final relay to overtake the Cougars, who were not entered in the race. And they got it--barely.

With Roy Martin putting SMU into the lead on the third leg and Kevin Robinzine holding off UCLA’s Danny Everett at the finish, the Mustangs won in 3:01.64. UCLA was timed in 3:01.96, a school record. Everett, a freshman, earlier finished fifth in the 400 meters in 45.54.

The victory, worth 10 points, gave SMU 53 points. Washington State collected 52 points, and Texas was third with 47. UCLA was eighth with 29 points, USC ninth with 27 1/2.

Texas, sparked by Juliet Cuthbert’s victories in the 100 and 200, and Terri Turner’s American record-equaling performance in the triple jump, won its first women’s title with 65 points. Alabama finished second with 55 points, and Texas Southern was third with 37. USC and Tennessee tied for fourth with 37, and UCLA tied for seventh with 25.

Toni Lutjens of UCLA won the women’s discus with a throw of 183-2. UCLA’s Gail Devers, who finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.13, had to scratch from the 100 and the triple jump because of a hamstring injury.

For Martin, his performance in the 1,600 relay was retribution for his earlier failures in the 100, 200 and 400 relay. He came into the 200 as the favorite and finished seventh. He came into the 100 as one of the favorites and failed to make the final. And in the 400 relay, which he anchored, he got the baton in second place and finished fourth.

The Tiacoh-Haley matchup was the highlight of the 20-event final program of the four-day meet at the Indiana University Track Stadium.

Tiacoh had run the fastest time in the world this year, 44.32, last month at Los Angeles. Haley had beaten him in their only two meetings. Both had run sensational 43.5 splits in 1,600-meter relay races this year.

Haley was out quickest, assuming the lead at the halfway point. But Tiacoh, from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, rapidly began moving up, caught Haley with about 110 meters remaining and passed him a few steps later. Haley was timed in 45.01.

Haley said: “I started out too fast. I tried to make him hurt, and it worked in reverse. He has a chance to beat the world record. I also have a chance to beat the world record.”

The record is 43.68, set by Lee Evans in 1968.

Washington State’s chances of winning the title for the first time in the meet’s 65-year history were hurt when Julius Korir, winner of the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday night, could only place seventh in Saturday’s 5,000--a race he had won in the 1984 NCAA championships.

Pittsburgh’s Lee McRae, the fastest indoor sprinter in history, won the 100 meters with a personal best of 10.11. Tennessee’s Sam Graddy, the Olympic silver medalist, was second in 10.19.

Other members of UCLA’s 1,600-meter relay team were Anthony Washington, Kevin Young and John Stanich. On Friday, Young finished second in the 400-meter hurdles.

The decathlon was won by Mike Ramos of Washington with 8,261 points. Jim Connolly of UCLA was fourth with 7,768 points.