Hodge captures pair of individual titles at Midwest Regional - TCU Horned Frogs Official Athletic Site

Hodge captures pair of individual titles at Midwest Regional
Frogs place fourth in women's team standings at regional meet.

	Virgil Hodge shined at the Midwest Regional in Austin, Texas, as the sophomore won both the women's 100 meters and 200 meters and was instrumental in the women's 4x100 relay team qualifying for the NCAA Championships in June.

May 27, 2006

Complete Results of 2006 NCAA Midwest Regional

AUSTIN, Texas - The Flyin' Frog women of the TCU track and field team turned in a stellar performance in the final day of the 2006 NCAA Midwest Regional at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The Frogs totaled 48 points to place fourth in the women's team standings behind the impressive performance of sophomore Virgil Hodge, who helped the 4x100 relay squad qualify for the NCAA Championships next month, as well as capturing the gold in both the women's 100 meters and 200 meters.

TCU will have its men's and women's teams send three individuals each to the national meet, along with the women's 4x100 relay team.

"I'm extremely proud of all nine of our women," TCU track and field head coach Darryl Anderson said. "This regional is very tough and for our women's team to come here, step up and perform they way they did this weekend, makes a big statement. Virgil Hodge won both the women's 100 meters and 200 meters to qualify for the NCAA Championships next month and it was a great accomplishment for her and TCU."

Starting off the day for TCU, Jonathan Jackson became the second Frog to qualify for the national meet in June. The 6-foot-5 sophomore from Grand Prairie, Texas, recorded his second-best mark of the season, leaping 51-09.25 (15.78m) in the men's triple jump to place third overall.

For the fourth time in five years, TCU will be sending its women's 4x100-meter relay team to the national championships. The foursome of Kishelle Paul, Virgil Hodge, Jamee Jones and Deborah Jones notched a silver medal with their second-fastest time of the season (44.16).

After winning her heat in Friday's preliminaries of both the women's 100 meters and 200 meters, Hodge shattered her own personal-best records in the two events in the finals. The native from St. Kitts, Caribbean, pulled ahead of the competition midway and held her pace for a winning photo-finish time of 11.10 in the 100 meters. Hodge went on to win the 200 meters later in the day with a personal-best time of 22.57.

Other NCAA qualifiers for TCU included Julie Curtis, Nathandra John, Jackson Langat and Otis McDaniel.

Curtis will be heading to the national meet for the first time, and it will be John's second straight NCAA appearance. Curtis improved her mark from Friday's preliminaries in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a fourth-place finish (59.77), while John clocked a 52.84 in the women's 400-meter dash to take home the bronze.

Langat had a slight edge in the second turn of the men's 800 meters but finished fifth with a time of 1:48.27. McDaniel secured the last NCAA qualifying spot in the men's 100 meters, running his fastest time under any condition with a 10.22 clocking.

Calandra Stewart missed the cut qualifying for the NCAA Championships with a sixth-place finish in the women's 1500-meter run (4:27.80).

On Friday, senior Kip Kangogo was the first Frog to qualify for the national meet. He collected a silver medal in the men's 5000-meter run.

Texas women dominated the Midwest Regional, collecting 93 team points. Texas A&M followed in second with 72 points, while Minnesota had 51 for third place. TCU and Nebraska rounded out as the top five in the region with the Cornhuskers sitting in fifth (46 points).

The top five individual finishers in every event and the top three relay teams in each of the four Regional (East, West, Midwest and Mideast) earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in June. At-large berths will be announced the week of May 30-June 2.

The 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place June 7-10, at the A.G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif.

NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL
Austin, Texas
Saturday, May 27, 2006

TCU NCAA QUALIFIERS:

Julie Curtis - Women's 400-meter hurdles
Virgil Hodge - Women's 100 meters and 200 meters
Jonathan Jackson - Men's Triple Jump
Nathandra John - Women's 400 meters
Jackson Langat - Men's 800 meters
Otis McDaniel - Men's 100 meters
Women's 4x100 Relay Team (Kishelle Paul, Hodge, Jamee Jones, Deborah Jones)