TRACK AND FIELD / NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS : Morris, Green Pick Up Where They Left Off

If there’s any stress being a defending champion, women’s distance runner Tracy Dahl-Morris and sprinter Michael Green weren’t showing it Friday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field meet.

Morris gave Iowa the early lead in the women’s team standing by winning the 5,000 for the second consecutive year. The senior ran away from the field over the final 200 meters to win with a career-best time of 15 minutes, 49.52 seconds.

“I was a little nervous coming into the race. We’ve had mid-terms and I was was a little tired this week,” said Dahl-Morris.

The champion trailed Penn State’s Kim Kelly, who finished fifth, for the first 3,000 meters before taking the lead for good.

“The last mile I wasn’t sure when I should go. I could feel some people, so I put it into another gear. I think I would have been able to go faster if I had to,” she said.

Freshman Deena Drossin of Arkansas was second.

Green, meanwhile, dominated as he moved into Saturday’s finals of the men’s 55-meter event

“I’m feeling pretty confident,” said the Jamaican, who already has posted the fastest collegiate time of 6.10 seconds in the event.

Green, representing Clemson, won his preliminary heat at 6.13 -- the fastest of the 16 sprinters to move into the semifinals. Then he pulled away to win his semifinal heat in 6.12, with Randy Jordan of North Carolina, who ran in the same heat, following at 6.23.

“I’m not really feeling any pressure as a defending champion,” said the senior. “Winning the first time was special, winning again will be even nicer, because not many people repeat.”

The Atlantic Coast Conference champion is completing a successful indoor campaign that included victories in the Millrose Games and Mobil I meet.

“My start is going very well. I’m having fast acceleration,” he said. “But, I’ve still got room to improve.”

Junior Holli Hyche of Indiana State, the fastest qualifier for Saturday’s 55-meter final, won the 200. Hyche, fifth to Houston’s Michele Collins in last year’s 200, won in 22.98. Collins settled for third in 23.35, with Auburn’s Juliet Campbell second in 23.11.

“It means a lot to me,” said Hyche, who is competing in her hometown. “My coach told me to stay relaxed. ... I came out and ran. My parents and relatives and friends are here.”

Kevin Coleman of Nebraska was another successful defending champion, taking first in the shot put at 63 feet, 9 inches.

Erick Walder, who gave Arkansas victories in both the long and triple jump last year, began his bid for a repeat double by going 27-4 to win the long jump.

Several other 1992 champions were unsuccessful in their bids for a repeat. In the women’s 55-meter hurdles, Jamaican Gillian Russell, representing Miami, Fla., finished fourth. Florida’ Monifa Taylor won in 7.53.

North Carolina’s Allen Johnson, who defeated Indiana’s Glenn Terry by more than a second in last year’s 55-meter hurdles final, finished second to the Big Ten champion this time. Terry won in 7.13 and Johnson was second in 7.22.

Deon Minor of Baylor, the defending men’s champ in the 400, moved into Saturday’s final despite missing a week of practice after pulling his right hamstring in the Southwest Conference meet.

“I feel pretty good, it doesn’t hurt,” said Minor, who finished second to Wes Russell of Clemson in his heat. Russell was the fastest qualifier for Saturday’s final at 46.66.

“I wasn’t worried about my time,” Minor said. “I just wanted to make sure I put together a good enough time to make the finals.”

Behind Hyche in qualifying for the 55 dash was Jamaican Dahlia Duhaney, hoping to help Louisiana State claim its fourth women’s indoor title since 1987.

Arkansas led the women’s competition after Friday’s four finals with 14 points. Louisiana State was second at 11, with Indiana State, Seton Hall, Florida and Iowa tied for third with 10 points.

In the men’s competition, Arkansas was in the lead after Friday’s six events with 30 points, followed by Ohio State with 12. The Razorbacks, moving into position for a 10th consecutive indoor title, boosted their chances by sending four runners into the men’s mile final. Ireland’s Niall Bruton led the Arkansas qualifiers in 4:02.27 and teammates Michael Morin and John Schiefer both qualified within two seconds of him.

Other champions determined Friday included Kenyan Jonah Koech of Iowa State in the 5,000; and Chris Melloms of Ohio State, the 1990 world junior champion at 200 meters who nearly lost his life last August in a drive-by shooting when he was jogging in Dayton, Ohio.

“I was in critical condition, woke up three days after the shooting and saw a bunch of tubes coming out of me,” said Melloms, who won the 200 in 20.93.

LSU’s bid for the women’s title suffered a serious blow when Duhaney, third in the 200 last year, was disqualified in the prelims for a false start.

The top qualifier in the women’s 3,000 was Georgia’s Frida Thordardottir of Iceland, who pulled away from the field at one point by more than 100 meters, but nearly was caught at the finish line by Villanova’s Cheri Goddard.