BOULDER — After Porscha Lucas’ 22.29-second clocking Sunday in the 200 meters at the Big 12 championships was announced as the fastest time in the world this year, Texas A&M teammate Allison George gasped in disbelief.
“Are you serious?” gushed George, who finished fourth.
Lucas’ reaction?
“I feel the same way,” Lucas said. “I was very happy I was able to come out here and continue to drop my PR (personal record). I’m just so happy about that. I’m really, really excited.”
Coming back strong.
CU’s Brent Vaughn took it hard Saturday after failing to advance in the 1,500 meters, but he rolled to a convincing win Sunday in his speciality, the 5,000.
“That’s our distance here at CU,” said Vaughn, a Smoky Hill product who led five teammates into the top seven. “We did our job, so, pretty pleased.”
With only NCAA regionals and nationals left in his collegiate career, Vaughn savored CU’s first conference track title since 1947.
“Anytime you can get a Big 12 championship is pretty incredible,” Vaughn said. “It makes it that much more special that I had my family and friends here to share it with.”
Olympic-quality coaching.
CU’s James Begley, who won the discus, gave a lot of credit to coach Casey Malone, who finished sixth in the 2004 Olympics.
“Coming in from high school, my technique was just horrible,” Begley said. “It’s not very good now, but Casey’s such a patient guy. He will work with you as long as you want to get better.”
