Locke advances to 200 finals at NCAA track, earns All-American title

Posted Jun 9, 2011 by Bill Ward

Updated Jun 9, 2011 at 09:45 PM

Chamberlain High product Dentarius Locke, a Tennessee redshirt freshman, bounced back from his disappointment in the 100-meter dash qualifying by advancing out of Thursday’s qualifying round of the 200 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Since the top eight finishers of the NCAA track finals earn first team All-American status, Thursday’s result assures Locke of that honor, the first time he has done so outdoors. Earlier this year, he earned All-American honors indoors.

Locke, who failed to reach the 100 finals because of a poor start, earned the eighth and final spot in the championship race of the 200 by running 20.39. That time gave him third place in his qualifying heat and eighth overall. The finals of the 200 are Saturday.

In the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, University of South Florida junior Nicole Rozario was unable to reach the finals after she finished 21st out of 24 in the qualifying round with a time of 10 minutes, 31.01 seconds.

The meet was in a weather delay late Thursday due to severe thunderstorm warnings in the Des Moines area. That prevented Wharton High graduate and Florida sophomore Sean Obinwa and his Gators teammates from immediately competing in the men’s 4x400 relay qualifying.