WSU’s Anderson moves on to semis

DES MOINES, Iowa – Washington State University’s Jeshua Anderson ran the second-fastest time in the first round of the senior men’s 400-meter hurdles Thursday at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Anderson won his heat in 49.61 seconds and advanced to today’s semifinals. Bershawn Jackson (Nike) had the top overall time (49.58).

Also for WSU, Shaquana Logan placed ninth in the junior women’s long jump at 18 feet, 5 1/4 inches, and failed to advance in the 100 hurdles after running a personal-best 14.15; Greg Hornsby ran 10.74 in the first round of the junior men’s 100 and didn’t advance; and Anna Layman (Central Valley High) was scheduled to compete in the senior women’s 800 but didn’t make the trip because of an illness.

Former Cougar Blessing Ufodiama, competing unattached, placed seventh in the senior women’s triple jump at 43-9 1/4. Erica McLain won the event on her first try, in 46-61/4.

Also at the meet, Galen Rupp and Amy Begley each repeated as national champions.

Rupp captured his second straight national men’s 10,000 outdoor title, winning in 28:59.29. Begley beat hometown favorite Lisa Koll with a big kick about 500 meters from the finish and won the women’s 10,000 in 32:06.45.

The men’s 100 was already thinned by the absence of Tyson Gay, the American record holder who’s out with a hamstring injury. Shawn Crawford, the fourth-place Olympic finisher in 2004, was a late scratch, leaving Walter Dix and Wallace Spearmon as the sprinters to watch for the finals.