Smith advances to 400 semis at USA track championships

Posted Jun 24, 2010 by Bill Ward

Updated Jun 24, 2010 at 10:47 PM

Former Freedom High track and field standout Calvin Smith, who just completed his senior season at the University of Florida, placed second in his heat of the 400-meter dash to automatically reach the semifinals of the event at Thursday’s USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The semifinal rounds are slated to start Friday at 7 p.m.

Smith posted a time of 45.84, a mere .16 behind heat winner LeJerald Betters, a former Baylor University star who now runs for Nike. Betters’ performance was the third-fastest qualifying mark, Smith was No. 6 out of the 16 who advanced to the semifinals and the top qualifier was Jamaal Torrence (45.49) of Orlando, who at this year’s indoor world championships won the bronze medal.

Former Olympic and world champion Jeremy Wariner qualified third in 45.80.

At the NCAA outdoor championships held earlier this month in Eugene, Ore., Smith earned two more all-American titles to push his school record to 18 crowns when he placed fourth in the 400 and anchored UF to third place in the 4x400. Smith’s official split in that race was 43.69, the seventh fastest ever recorded for the 4x400 in NCAA history.