Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

UK calls on DH Braden Kapteyn to close things out in the ninth. He gets pinch-hitter Jeff Lockwood to fly to left and Zach Osborne to take a called third strike. Kentrail Davis draws a walk, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. A wild pitch moves Davis to second base. But Kapteyn runs down a short pop foul off the bat of Blake Forsythe to end the game. FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 6, Tennessee 4.

Cats take 6-4 lead into ninth

Tennessee goes to the bullpen again to open the bottom of the eighth. Left-hander Will Locante comes in, with righty Matt Ramsey moving to right field in place of Jarred Frazier. Locante beans Bryan Rose with a 3-2 pitch, strikes out Chad Wright, walks Andy Burns and fans Chris Bisson. The Vols go to their bullpen again, calling in right-hander Stephen McCray. He strikes out Gunner Glad. Heading to the ninth inning: Kentucky 6, Tennessee 4.

Paxton strikes out side in 8th

UK lefty James Paxton strikes out the side, in order, in the eighth. Going to the bottom of the inning: Kentucky 6, Tennessee 4.

Cats leave ‘em loaded in 7th

In the seventh inning, a leadoff single by Kentucky’s Chris Bisson and a walk by Gunner Glad brings an end to Nick Hernandez’s night on the mound for Tennessee. Coach Todd Raleigh calls for right-hander Ryne Simpson. Marcus Nidiffer bunts the runners to second and third, and Raleigh replaces Simpson with lefty Adam Adkins. Keenan Wiley walks on four pitches, loading the bases. Adkins exits and right-hander Matt Ramsey enters the game for Tennessee. Ramsey fans Braden Kapteyn and gets Chris McClendon on a comebacker. At the end of seven innings: Kentucky 6, Tennessee 4.

Vols score 1 in 7th; Cats lead 6-4

A one-out single by Kentrail Davis ignites a Tennessee rally in the seventh inning. Blake Forsythe walks and both runners advance on a James Paxton wild pitch. Davis scores on Cody Haven’s sacrifice fly to center, Forsythe taking third. P.J. Polk grounds out on a tough play by third baseman Chris McClendon. Seventh-inning stretch time: Kentucky 6, Tennessee 4.

Cats roar back with six-run sixth

Chad Wright

For a second inning in a row, Kentucky opens with back-to-back singles, this time by Andy Burns and Chris Bisson, to put runners on the corners. Gunner Glad’s fly to center is too shallow to score Burns. A wild pitch moves Bisson to second base before Marcus Nidiffer draws a walk to load the bases. Keenan Wiley, who singled to open the previous inning, fouls off a couple of 3-2 pitches before lining a two-run single down the third-base line. Nidiffer holds at second. Braden Kapteyn brings Nidiffer home with the tying run and moves Wiley to third with a double to left. Vols lefty Nick Hernandez spears Chris McClendon’s bullet-comebacker to notch the second out, but Bryan Rose walks to load the bases. Chad Wright, 0-for-3 to this point, clears the bases with a double down the line that glances off the glove of left-fielder P.J. Polk. Wright goes to third on a wild pitch. Burns flies to deep left. At the end of six innings: Kentucky 6, Tennessee 3.

Cats trail 3-0 in middle of 6th

Tennessee gets a two-out single from Cody Grisham, but nothing else in the sixth inning. Going to the bottom of the inning: Tennessee 3, Kentucky 0.

Cats threaten but don’t score in fifth

Kentucky mounts its strongest threat in the fifth, starting with back-to-back singles by Keenan Wiley and Braden Kapteyn. Chris McClendon’s bunt moves runners to second and third with one out. But Vols left Nick Hernandez retires Bryan Rose on a pop foul and gets Chad Wright on a groundout to second. Going to the sixth inning: Tennessee 3, Kentucky 0.

Vols go down in order in fifth

A correction on the fourth-inning scoring for Tennessee (see revised information below).

In the top of the fifth, Tennessee goes down in order. In the middle of the fifth: Tennessee 3, Kentucky 0.

Vols lead Cats 3-0 through 4th

Tennessee left-hander Nick Hernandez sets Kentucky down in order in the fourth. Going to the fifth: Tennessee 3, Kentucky 0.

Vols push lead to 3-0 in fourth

Zach Osborne

UK lefty James Paxton strikes out the first two batters in the fourth inning, but the second of those – Tyler Horne — reaches first on a wild pitch. Cody Grisham’s single to left advances Horne to third and Grisham takes second on the throw to third. Paxton comes back to strike out Jarred Frazier. But Zach Osborne, a freshman out of Pleasure Ridge Park, singles up the middle drives in both runners. In the middle of the fourth: Tennessee 3, Kentucky 0.

Vols lead Cats 1-0 through third

Kentucky’s No. 9 hitter, Bryan Rose, is hit by a pitch to start the third inning. But Chad Wright grounds into a 4-6-3 doubld play and Andy Burns lines out to center. Going to the fourth inning: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0.

Tennessee strands two in 3rd inning

In the top of the third inning, Tennessee’s Blake Forsythe reaches first on a two-out fielding error by shortstop Andy Burns. Cody Hawn draws a walk, but James Paxton catches P.J. Polk looking at a third strike. In the middle of the third: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0.

Cats waste Nidiffer’s second-inning single

Kentucky gets a leadoff single from Marcus Nidiffer but can’t move him past second base. After two complete innings: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0.

Tennessee down in order in 2nd inning

James Paxton

Kentucky left-hander James Paxton retires the Tennessee Volunteers in order in the second inning. Going to the bottom of the second: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0.

Tennessee leads Kentucky 1-0 through 1st

Kentucky threatens in the bottom of the first but gets nothing. Andy Burns laces a one-out single to left. As Chris Bisson strikes out, Burns steals second. Gunner Glad hits a ball hard, but right at third baseman Cody Brown, who tags Burns for the third out. After one inning: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0.

Tennessee gets a run in first

Blake Forsythe

Tennessee strikes in the top of the first, doing all its damage after the first two batters are retired. Blake Forsythe singles through the right side of the infield, then goes to second as Cody Hawn reaches on a third-strike wild pitch. P.J. Polk’s single to right scores Forsythe, Hawn stopping at second. After half an inning: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0.

Late lineup change puts Wade on bench

A late lineup change for Kentucky. SS Chris Wade will not start due to a sore hamstring. Andy Burns, originally set to DH, moves to short. Braden Kapteyn goes in as DH. The revised lineup is listed below.

SEC baseball: Tennessee at Kentucky

Getting ready for Friday’s opener of a three-game Southeastern Conference baseball series at Cliff Hagan Stadium, with Kentucky (22-22 overall, 8-13) playing host to Tennessee (20-25, 6-15).

UK comes in 10th overall in the SEC, Tennessee 11th. Only the top eight teams will qualify for the SEC Tournament, May 20-24, at Hoover, Ala.

The top eight entering weekend play, in order: LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Florida, Alabama, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Auburn is No. 9.

The weather 30 minutes before the scheduled game time is 72 degrees, overcast, an 18 mph wind blowing from right field to left, with gusts to 25 mph.

The lineups:

Tennessee — Zach Osborne, ss; Kentrail Davis, cf; Blake Forsythe, c; Cody Hawn, 1b; P.J. Polk, lf; Cody Brown, 3b; Tyler Horne, dh; Cody Grisham, 2b; Jarred Frazier, rf. Pitching: LH Nick Hernandez (2-4, 5.26).

Kentucky — Chad Wright, lf; Andy Burns, ss; Chris Bisson, 2b; Gunner Glad, 1b; Marcus Nidiffer, c; Keenan Wiley, cf; Braden Kapteyn, dh; Chris McClendon, 3b; Bryan Rose, rf. Pitching: LH James Paxton (4-2, 5.53).

Umpires — Tony Maners, home; John Whitaker, 1b; Owen Butts, 3b.

Granted, Kentucky-Louisville basketball and football rivalries are what get the average fan anxious.

That doesn’t mean that athletes in other sports are any less passionate about beating their in-state competition.

If pre-season predicitions are anywhere close to accurate, look for some intense battles during the indoor track and field season.

Both the men’s and women’s teams from Kentucky and Louisville are among the top 25 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division I rankings.

The Louisville men open the season at No.9, Kentucky at No. 11.

On the women’s side, UK checks in at No. 22, U of L at No. 25.

Oregon, 19th in last year’s NCAA Championships, is the top-ranked men’s team. The Ducks have a pair of Olympians in Galen Rupp and Andrew Wheating, as well as two All-Americans in Andrew Acosta and Ashton Eaton.

Defending NCAA champ Arizona State is No. 2.

U of L is especially strong in the jumps, with Tone Belt, Andre Black, Rudon Bastian and transfer Michael Johnson Jr. Belt won the NCAA long jump in 2007, while Black won the triple jump.

The Cardinals also return Steve Hnat in the shot put and distance runner Corey Thorne.

UK, which will play host to the Southeastern Conference Championships, features a pair of Olympians in sprinter Jose Acevedo (Venezuela) and hurdler Mikel Thomas (Trinidad & Tobago). The Wildcats likely will continue their recent run of excellent showings in the 4-by-400 relay and are deep in the weight events with Rashaud Scott, Chase Madison and Colin Boevers leading the big guys.

UK is among six SEC men’s teams ranked in the top 20, and among six SEC women’s teams in the top 25.

Texas A&M tops the women’s list, followed by 2008 NCAA runner-up LSU.

A&M is led by sprinter Porscha Lewis and 400-meter champion Jessica Beard.

LSU is paced by defending 800-meter champion LaTavia Thomas.

Defending champion Arizona State is rated No. 6.

UK’s top threats include Jenna Martin (400) and Ashley Muffet (throws).

U of L features Jere’ Summers (throws), Seidre Forde (triple jump) and transfer sprinter Saravia Richardson.

The NCAA Championships are set for March 13-14 at College Station, Texas.

USTFCCCA Division I indoor pre-season rankings

MEN

WOMEN

Chris Rusin

James Paxton

More good news for first-year head coach Gary Henderson and his Kentucky Wildcats.

For a third straight season, UK is in the national pre-season baseball rankings. Earlier, Baseball America rated UK’s incoming class of recruits No. 4 in the nation, and seven highly regarded prospects committed for the 2010 season.

A tip of the hat to Brent Ingram, UK baseball’s media contact, for providing the information.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Top 40 has the Cats at No. 19. All 12 Southeastern Conference schools either received votes or made the list  — the only conference to do so.

With Henderson serving as pitching coach under John Cohen (who returned to his alma mater, Mississippi State, after last season), UK has won a school-record 122 games over the last three seasons. UK was ranked No. 20 last year and No. 27 in 2007 by Collegiate Baseball in its pre-season poll, and No. 25 in last year’s National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.

The Cats led the SEC in earned run average last season. They appear to be well-armed once again.

Senior left-hander Chris Rusin is a first-team all-SEC pick and is on the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year watch list. He led SEC starters in ERA throughout the season, finishing with a 6-3 record and 3.33 ERA over 13 starts. Included were two complete games.

Also back is Saturday starter James Paxton, also a lefty, who is coming off a 4-2, 2.92 season.

Freshman All-America shortstop Chris Wade returns to lead a defense that led the SEC with a .979 fielding percentage last season. Wade also led the SEC with 24 doubles, while batting .296 with five homers and 51 RBI.

Other returnees include third baseman Chris McClendon (.346, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 7 SB) and center fielder Keenan Wiley (.327, 2 HR, 38 RBI).

The Cats open the 2009 season Feb. 20, taking on Troy in the Coastal Carolina pre-season tournament at Myrtle Beach, S.C.  UK has won 67 of its last 73 non-conference games in the regular season, including 20 in a row at home. The team’s 122 wins over the last three seasons ranks fourth among SEC schools, a list topped by Vanderbilt with 133.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper pre-season poll

UK opponents in bold.

Rank    School (’08 Final Record)        Points

1.         LSU (49-19-1)                          495

2.         North Carolina (54-14)           494

3.         Rice (47-15)                            489

4.         Georgia (45-25-1)                   486

5.         Stanford (41-24-2)                  484

6.         Arizona State (49-13)                  482

7.         Florida State (54-14)                   479

8.         Louisville (41-21)                    476

9.         Texas A&M (46-19)                 473

10.       Texas (39-22)                          470

11.       Mississippi (39-25)                 467

12.       Georgia Tech (41-21)             465

13.       Cal State Fullerton (41-22)         462

14.       Oklahoma State (44-18)              459

15.       Baylor (32-26)                         457

16.       Fresno State (47-31)                    456

17.       San Diego (44-17)                   453

18.       Miami, Fla. (53-11)                 451

19.       Kentucky (44-19)                   448

20.       Cal Irvine (42-18)                  445

21.       UCLA (33-27)                           443

22.       Missouri (39-21)                     440

23.       Pepperdine (38-21)                 439

24.       Southern California (28-28)    436

25.       Florida (34-24)                        435

26.       Clemson (31-27-1)                  432

27.       Notre Dame (33-21-1)            430

28.       Coastal Carolina (50-14)        428

29.       Michigan (46-14)                    425

30.       Cal Santa Barbara (35-21)    423

31.       East Carolina (42-21)              422

32.       Missouri State (40-17)                420

33.       Southern Mississippi (42-22)  417

34.       Tulane (39-22-1)                     415

35.       Arizona (42-19)                       414

36.       Wichita State (48-17)                  410

37.       Texas Christian (44-19)           409

38.       Oregon State (28-24)                  406

39.       California (33-21-2)                402

40.       Alabama (35-28)                    398

OTHER TEAMS RECEIVING VOTES: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Arkansas, Auburn, Long Beach St., Oregon, Virginia, North Carolina St., Houston, Kent St., Santa Clara, U.C. Riverside, Oral Roberts, Nebraska, Kennesaw St., Ohio St., Oklahoma, San Diego St., Tennessee, Mississippi St., New Mexico, Jacksonville St., Elon, Western Kentucky, Dallas Baptist, N.C. Charlotte, South Florida, St. John’s, Winthrop, Purdue, James Madison, Marshall, Central Florida, Washington, Washington St., Georgia Southern, Northwestern St., Lamar, Texas-San Antonio, Southern, Louisiana-Monroe, New Orleans, Hawaii, San Jose St., San Francisco.

Kentucky, having qualified for the women’s NCAA Cross Country Championships for the first time since 1989, apparently has more to prove at that meet (Monday, Nov. 24, at Terre Haute, Ind.).

The Wildcats are nowhere to be found in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s final poll of the season. Thirty teams make the poll. UK is the last of two teams in the “others receiving votes” category — No. 32.

And Virginia, which beat the Cats for first place in the Southeast Regional, is a modest No. 28.

Washington and Oregon, 1-2 finishers in the Pac-10 and NCAA West Regional, remain 1-2 in the poll.

South Regional champion Florida State is third.

Michigan made the biggest jump, moving nine places to No. 10 after winning the Great Lakes Regional.

The Women’s Division I Cross Country National Poll:

ORV: Penn State (20), and Kentucky (11).

Dropped Out: No. 25 Penn State, No. 26 BYU, and No. 30 Wake Forest.

Defending NCAA champion Oregon retains the top spot in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association men’s poll, released Tuesday.

Oklahoma State moved up a spot to No. 2, trading places with Stanford.

The top four women’s teams remain unchanged: Washington, Oregon, Florida State and Princeton. Villanova climbs a spot to No. 5. Three-time defending NCAA champion Stanford is No. 11.

Although no Kentucky teams are ranked nationally, four men’s teams are among the top 15 in the Southeast Region: No. 4 Eastern Kentucky, No. 9 Louisville, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 15 Morehead State.

The women’s Southeast Region has UK at No. 7, U of L at No. 11.

From the men’s basketball gold-medal game at the Beijing Olympics, Sunday at Wukesong Olympic Basketball Gymnasium …

The United States held off a valiant effort by world-champion Spain to take the Olympic gold with a 118-107 victory.

Dwyane Wade led Team USA with 27 points. He made four of seven three-point attempts and also had four steals.

Kobe Bryant had 20 points and six assists. LeBron James added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony each scored 13, and Paul also handed out five assists. Chris Bosh led the team in rebounds with seven, and also scored eight points.

Former University of Kentucky standout Tayshaun Prince logged 8:25 of playing time. He made all three of his field-goal attempts, finishing with six points and two rebounds.

Rudy Fernandez made five of nine three-point attempts en route to a 22-point game for Spain. Pau Gasol had 21 points and six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures: Juan Carolos Navarro, 18; Carlos Jimenez, 12; Marc Gasol 11; and Felipe Reyes, 10 (plus seven rebounds).

Boy wonder point guard Ricky Rubio, 17, finished with six points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

* The U.S. lead over Spain is 111-104 with 2:02 left.

After Spain pulled to within 91-89 early in the quarter, Team USA scored 12 of the next 15 points to lead 103-92.

The lead was cut to four, 108-104, before Dwyane Wade hit a three-pointer for the seven-point edge.

* A Rudy Fernandez three-pointer has pulled Spain to within 91-89, the U.S. leading with 8:13 to play.

* Trailing 69-61 at halftime, Spain cut Team USA’s lead to four points several times during the third quarter but could get no closer. Heading into the final 10 minutes, the U.S. leads 91-82.

* The U.S. leads Spain 69-61 at halftime of a foul-fest.

Dwyane Wade has 21 points for Team USA and Chris Paul has 10. Former Kentucky Wildcat Tayshaun Prince has six points and two rebounds.

Rudy Fernandez has 13 points for Spain and Pau Gasol has nine.

Spain has three players with three fouls each and three more with two each as the Americans have made 17 of 20 free throws.

Team USA has six players with two fouls apiece. Spain has made 18 of 21 free throws.

Spain led by as many as five points in the first quarter, but the U.S. scored nine points in a row to take a 26-22 lead.

Team USA’s advantage reached 14 points, 58-44, when LeBron James knocked down a three-pointer.

Spain pulled to within six points, 67-61, in the final minute of the half.

* Team USA leads Spain 38-31 after one quarter.

The Spaniards led 22-17 before Team USA ran off nine consecutive points to take the lead.

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant spent most of the quarter on the bench, as each had two fouls within the first 5 1/2 minutes.

Dwyane Wade led the U.S. with 13 first-quarter points. Chris Paul added six and Tayshaun Prince had four.

Pao Gasol had seven points for Spain and Juan Carlos Navarro had six.

BEIJING — Safe to say, the Beijing Olympics have not turned out the way Tyson Gay had envisioned after he ran the fastest any-conditions 100 meters of all time (9.68 seconds) at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

A few days later, he pulled his left hamstring during the quarterfinals of the 200-meter dash.

The reigning world champion in both the 100 and 200, he missed nearly six weeks of training between the Trials and the Olympics.

The graduate of Lafayette High School in Lexington was eliminated in the semifinals of the 100-meter dash.

Thursday night, with the U.S. leading its semifinal heat of the 4-by-100 relay, the final pass of the baton from Darvis Patton to anchor-man Gay amounted to a swing-and-a-miss. The baton appeared to barely graze Gay’s hand and fell to the track. With it went the U.S. relay hopes.

Rodney Martin and Travis Padgett ran the legs preceding Patton.

BEIJING — University of Kentucky senior Mikel Thomas, competing for his native Trinidad and Tobago, placed sixth in his heat Tuesday night (a.m. U.S.) in quarterfinals of the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium.

Thomas ran in the first of four heats. The first three in each heat, plus the next three fastest finishers, will advance to the semifinals. After two heats, it was clear that Thomas would not qualilfy on time.

Thomas ran a personal-best wind-legal time of 13.62. (UK had listed his 13.57 as a school record, but that race was wind-aided.)

David Payne of the U.S. won the heat in 13.24, followed by Petr Svoboda of the Czech Republic and Shi Dongpeng of China. In fourth, Konstadinos Douvalidis set a Greek national record of 13.46. Jamaica’s Richard Phillips was fifth, followed by Thomas, Igor Peremoto of Russia and Hector Cotto of Puerto Rico.

As it turned out, Thomas needed to run faster than 13.51 in order to qualify on time.

U.S. champion David Oliver, in the last heat, had the fastest time, 13.16.

World record-holder Dayron Robles of Cuba was next, a heat winner in 13.19.

Payne ranked third.

Live from National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games …

             Tyson Gay’s dream of running for a gold medal in the men’s 100-meter dash came to a screeching halt Saturday night (a.m. in the U.S.) at the Beijing Olympic Games.

            Gay, a graduate of Lafayette High School in Lexington, will miss the finals (10:30 p.m. in Beijing, 10:30 a.m. EDT) at National Stadium, also known as Bird’s Nest.

            World record-holder Usain Bolt led all qualifiers in 9.85 seconds.

            Gay, running in the next heat, placed fifth in 10.05 seconds, tied for ninth overall.

            The top four from each semifinal heat qualified for the finals.

            Bolt, from Jamaica, practically loped to victory in the first heat, 9.85. NCAA champion Walter Dix, out of Flordia State, took second in 9.95, followed by Marc Burns of Trinidad and Tobago (9.97), Michael Prater of Jamaica (10.01) and Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis (10.05).

            Former world record-holder Asafa Powell, also from Jamaica, won Gay’s heat in 9.91. Then came Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago (9.93), Churandy Martinia of Netherland Antilles (9.94), Darvis Patton of the U.S. (10.03) and Gay. Behind Gay was Portugal’s Francis Okikwelu (10.10), silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

            Gay was trying to do what few thought possible just a few days ago.

            The reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters set an American record of 9.77 during quarterfinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials at Eugene, Ore. In the finals, he ran the fastest 100 of all time, 9.68, although a tailwind negated the effort from record consideration.

A few days later, Gay cruised through one round of the 200. In the quarterfinals, though, he tumbled to the track with a strained left hamstring. That knocked him out of the 200 and, many speculated, possibly the 100.

Until coming to Beijing, he had not competed since being injured about five weeks ago.

His first race here was a tepid 10.22. He improved to 10.09 in the quarterfinals.

Women’s 800

Semifinals of the women’s 800 meters — the top two finishers in each of three heats advance to the finals, plus the next two fastest finishers.

Automatic qualifiers by heat:

One: 1. Svetlana Klyuka (Russia) 1:58.31; 2. Maria Mutola (Mozambique) 1:58.61.

Two: 1. Pamela Jelimo (Kenya) 1:57.31; 2. Hasna Benhassi (Morroco) 1:58.03

Three: 1. Janeth Jepkosgei (Kenya) 1:57.28; 2. Yuliya Krevsun (Ukraine) 1:57.32.

Next-fastest two qualifiers: Tatiana Andrianova (Russia) 1:58.16 (heat three); Kenia Sinclair (Jamaica) 1:58.28 (heat three).

Live from National Stadium, a.k.a. Bird’s Nest, at the Beijing Olympic Games …

We’re about 20 minutes away from Saturday’s second session of track and field, scheduled for 7 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT).

Of course, the buzz is building for one race in particular: the men’s 100-meter dash finals.

To get there, Lexington’s Tyson Gay will first have to negotiate through the semifinals, schedueld for 8:05 and 8:13. Finals are set for 10:30. 

Gay is in the second of the two semifinal heats. The top four from each heat, plus the fastest fifth-place finisher, will advance to the finals.

Gay, the reigning World champ at 100 and 200 meters, will be in the outside lane (nine), next to 2004 silver-medalist Francis Obikwelu of Portugal.

The rest of the field, from lane two out (lane one is vacant): Martial Mbandjock, France (personal best 10:06); Naoki Tsukahara, Japan (10.15); 2004 relay silver-medalist Darvis Patton, U.S. (9.89); World Championships finalist Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles (9.99); former world record-holder and 2007 Worlds bronze-medalist Asafa Powell of Jamaica (9.74); and Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago (9.93).

Heat one, from the inside out: Worlds silver-medalist Derrick Atkins of Bahamas (9.91); Asian champion Samuel Francis of Qatar (9.99); Marc Burns of Trinidad and Tobago (9.96); three-time Worlds medalist (including gold in 2003) Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis (9.98); NCAA champion Walter Dix of the U.S. (9.93); world record-holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica (9.72); Texas A&M’s Tyrone Edgar of Great Britain (10.06); and TCU’s Michael Frater of Jamaica (10.00).

First event on tonight’s schedule is the javelin portion of the women’s heptathlon.