Aristil reaches title race at NCAA track finals

Posted Jun 8, 2011 by Bill Ward

Updated Jun 8, 2011 at 10:14 PM

Thanks to a strong finish in the final 60 meters, University of South Florida junior David Aristil advanced to the title race of the men’s 400-meter hurdles at Wednesday’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Until the home stretch of his qualifying heat, Aristil was flirting with making a quick exit from college track’s biggest meet. But he powered down the homestretch, knocked down one of the two last hurdles and crossed the finish line in third place in 50.10 seconds, just .07 off his personal best. That was good for sixth overall from the day’s three heats.

Aristil will compete in the finals of the 400 hurdles Friday night. At last year’s NCAA Championships, he finished fifth to earn his first All-American honors. Wednesday’s top qualifier was Washington State senior Jeshua Anderson, who ran 49.18.

In the men’s discus, USF’s Jared Thomas finished 12th with a throw of 177 feet, 4 inches. Only the top nine performances of the qualifying round reached the finals, where the winner was Julian Wruck of Texas Tech with a mark of 202-9.