TRACK AND FIELD / NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS : USC’s Miller Wins 100 Heat but Lags Behind Sharp Hyche

Indiana State sprint star Holli Hyche, overshadowing USC’s Inger Miller, showed Thursday that she is again on target for a second consecutive double in the women’s 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Hyche won her quarterfinal heat in 11.09 seconds, the third fastest time in the world this year, after winning her quarterfinal heat in the 200 Wednesday night in 22.41, fourth best in the world.

Hyche also has won the 55-meter and 200-meter dashes in the last two NCAA indoor championships, and if she wins both outdoor races again, she would be the first to sweep the indoor and outdoor sprints two years in a row.

LSU’s Cheryl Taplin, the co-world leader this year at 11.07, and Miller, the two biggest challengers to Hyche, won their heats, but were not nearly as impressive. Taplin was timed in 11.30 and Miller in 11.46.

Hyche will run the 100 and 200 semifinals tonight, and both finals Saturday.

In other events, Erick Walder of Arkansas won a record-tying third long jump title and Diane Guthrie of George Mason became the first athlete from an Eastern school to win the heptathlon.

Walder and Roland McGhee of Middle Tennessee State tied for the best jumps at 27 feet, 4 1/2 inches, but the Razorback senior won on a better second jump--27-0 1/2 to McGhee’s 26-10 1/2. He tied a record set by Ed Gordon of Iowa from 1929-31.

Guthrie also became the first to win a multi-event title and an individual championship in meet history, adding the heptathlon to the long jump crowns she won indoors and outdoors in 1991.

Guthrie, who was third in the long jump Wednesday, easily won the heptathlon with 6,032 points. Defending champion Kelly Blair (5,877) of Oregon was second.

Randy Jenkins, the only Tennessee high jump champion, won his second consecutive title at 7-7.