Sam Ellison Advances to NCAA Final at 800 MetersEarns All-American Status

Villanova sophomore Sam Ellison finished 2nd in heat 2 tonight in the 800 meter national semi-final, thereby (a) qualifying automatically as one of 8 competitors in the national championship race on Friday, and (b) earning All-American status for the first time in an individual event.

Heat 2

    Name              YR   Affiliation   Time   
1.  Aaron Evans       SR   Georgia       1:48.24   Q 
2.  Samuel Ellison    SO   Villanova     1:48.40   Q 
3.  Curtis Beach      SO   Duke          1:48.70  
4.  Felix Kitur       SR   VMI           1:48.94  
5.  Shawn Roberts     JR   Georgia Tech  1:49.83  
6.  Harry McFann      SO   Columbia      1:50.91  
7.  Howard Shepard    JR   LSU           1:51.49  
8.  Darrin Gibson     JR   Florida St    2:11.40

Ellison was 5th at the 400 meter mark, as the splits show below, in 54.16, one-half second behind the leader, Howard Gibson of LSU. Ellison closed in 54.24, the second-fastest closing lap in the heat, going from 5th at the bell to 2nd at the finish. His final 200 meters was covered in 26.7 seconds, allowing Ellison to secure the second-place spot.

Heat 2 Splits 
1.  Aaron Evans       Georgia      54.18 (6)   54.07    1:48.24
2.  Samuel Ellison    Villanova    54.16 (5)   54.24    1:48.40
3.  Curtis Beach      Duke         54.36 (7)   54.34    1:48.70
4.  Felix Kitur       VMI          53.86 (3)   55.09    1:48.94
5.  Shawn Roberts     Ga Tech      54.53 (8)   55.30    1:49.83
6.  Harry McFann      Columbia     54.09 (4)   56.82    1:50.91
7.  Howard Shepard    LSU          53.61 (1)   57.88    1:51.49
8.  Darrin Gibson     Florida St   53.76 (2) 1:17.65    2:11.40 

As the merged results below show, Heat 2 was the slowest of the three heats, so finishing in the top two was the only way to advance to the final.

      Name                Yr   Affiliation  Time        Heat(Pl)
 1.   Erik Sowinski       SR   Iowa         1:46.09  Q  3 (1)
 2.   Edward Kemboi       SO   Iowa State   1:46.20  Q  3 (2)
 3.   Elijah Greer        JR   Oregon       1:46.22  q  3 (3)
 4.   Charles Jock        SR   UC Irvine    1:46.24  Q  1 (1)
 5.   Ricky West          JR   Missouri     1:46.41  q  3 (4)
 6.   Ryan Martin         SR   Cal-SB       1:46.44  Q  1 (2)
 7.   David Pachuta       SR   Minnesota    1:46.62     3 (5)
 8.   Harun Abda          JR   Minnesota    1:46.65     3 (6)
 9.   Casimir Loxsom      JR   Penn State   1:46.85     1 (3)
10.   Lance Roller        SR   Virginia     1:47.07     1 (4)
11.   Austin Mudd         FR   Wisconsin    1:47.59     1 (5)
12.   Boru Guyota         SO   Oregon       1:48.01     3 (7)
13.   Aaron Evans         SR   Georgia      1:48.24  Q  2 (1)
14.   Samuel Ellison      SO   Villanova    1:48.40  Q  2 (2)
15.   James Eichberger    JR   Arizona      1:48.52     3 (8)
16.   Curtis Beach        SO   Duke         1:48.70     2 (3)
17.   Felix Kitur         SR   VMI          1:48.94     2 (4)
18.   Ryan Waite          SR   BYU          1:49.09     1 (6)
19.   Donte Holmes        SR   Delaware St  1:49.42     1 (7)
20.   Shawn Roberts       JR   Ga Tech      1:49.83     2 (5)
21.   Chris Slate         SR   Clemson      1:50.09     1 (8)
22.   Harry McFann        SO   Columbia     1:50.91     2 (6)
23.   Howard Shepard      JR   LSU          1:51.49     2 (7)
24.   Darrin Gibson       JR   Florida St   2:11.40     2 (8)