Smith advances to 400 finals at NCAAs

Posted Jun 9, 2010 by Bill Ward

Updated Jun 9, 2010 at 09:28 PM

Former Freedom High standout and current University of Florida senior Calvin Smith II advanced to the title race of the men’s 400-meter dash of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships by finishing second in Wednesday’s semifinal round at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Competing in light rain and cool conditions (upper 50s), Smith’s second place finish in one of the three semifinal heats earned him automatic advancement to Friday’s finals. The top two in each heat, plus the next two fastest times earned berths in the championship race. Smith took second in his qualifier in 45.64 seconds, two tenths of a second behind Alabama freshman Kirani James.

“I got out pretty fast—maybe a little bit faster than I should,” Smith said. “But I figured better that than taking off too slow and having to chase people down at the end. I felt pretty good and hopefully, my best race will come in the finals.”

The day’s fastest qualifier was Southern California sophomore Joey Hughes (45.15). Smith entered the NCAA finals with the world’s fastest 400 time of the year at 44.81.

Today, Smith will run onthe Gators’ 4x400 relay team in the semifinal round. There, Smith and his teammates come in with the world’s No. 1 time of the season, a school record 3:00.31.