NC State
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Smith Finishes Second in 3,000 Meter Steeplechase
6/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track
June 12, 2004
Austin, Texas - The 2004 Outdoor NCAA Championships concluded Saturday night at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, with the Wolfpack recording one of its top individual results in school history. Andy Smith finished second in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with his time of 8:45.84, just three seconds behind the eventual NCAA Champion. Not only did Smith earn All-American honors for the second straight year in the steeplechase, but Smith becomes the only NC State distance runner ever to finish as high as second overall at the NCAAs, as three others hold fourth place showings. In fact, NC State only has one NCAA Champion in the men's event, and that was in the triple jump.
Also for the men's side on Saturday, freshman Bobby Mack placed 18th in the 5,000 meters with his time of 14:58.39. In other action late Friday night, James Rowell finished 27th in the men's discus with his heave of 165'00".
On the women's side, NC State had two runners compete in the 5,000 meters Saturday night. Renee Gunning just missed scoring points for NC State, as she placed ninth with a time of 16:49.72. Gunning improves upon her 13th place finish in that same race from one year ago, and must wait to see if she earns All-American honors, as the top-eight American athletes in every event do so. Julia Lucas registered a did not finish in the same race.
