Smith places fifth in nation

The Southeast sophomore earned All-American honors in the 400 meters.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Southeast Missouri State sophomore Miles Smith fell short of a national title Saturday night in the 400-meter dash finals at the NCAA track and field championships.

But Smith's fifth-place performance against some of the world's best runners enabled him to become Southeast's first Division I All-American in track and field since 1994, when Terrence Branch placed fourth in the 400 at the national meet. All eight finishers in Saturday's finals received All-American honors.

Smith is also the first Southeast athlete to score at the national meet since Branch. His performance was worth four team points.

"It's a great honor to be an All-American," Southeast coach Joey Haines said. "The best thing, when it's all said and done, the big event in this meet was the 400, and when you look at what it took to make the finals, what it took to make All-American, it's really impressive."

Smith, ranked 14th in the world this year, equaled his school-record time of 45.16 seconds, originally set when he won the Mideast Regional on May 28. He edged LSU junior Kelly Willie, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist as an alternate on the United States 1,600 relay team, for fifth place. Willie clocked 45.17 seconds.

Baylor senior Darold Williamson, who anchored the U.S. gold medal 1,600 relay team at the 2004 Olympics, won Saturday's race in 44.51 seconds, which is the second-fastest time in the world this year. In Friday's semifinals, Williamson ran the world's fastest time of the year, 44.27 seconds.

Mississippi State senior Jamel Ashley was second (44.75), followed by Texas Tech junior Andrae Williams (44.90), Florida State freshman Ricardo Chambers (45.03), Smith and Willie. Rounding out the finals field were Arkansas senior Terry Gatson (45.68) and Oregon senior Kedar Inico (45.85).

"It was just an incredible field of runners, and Miles ran really well," Haines said. "He ran four days in a row [three rounds of the 400, along with one round of the 1,600 relay], which he has never had to do before, and I'm sure that affected him.

"Running against this caliber of runners, even though the time only equals his best, it shows he's ready to run faster. And he was coming on. If he had had about 10 more meters, he would have caught a couple of people. But for your first time at the outdoor nationals, to come and finish that high, is something."

Smith said he was extremely pleased with his performance, and he agreed with Haines that running at such a high level four days in a row probably took a toll Saturday.

"I'm real happy," Smith said. "I could have run a little faster at the beginning, but I came on at the end. It's great to be an All-American, and I'm going to win next year."

Added Haines: "The future Miles has got over the next two years is unbelievable. He's certainly got a chance to be a national champion, and more."

Smith will have another big meet coming up in two weeks, as his time during the Mideast Regional qualified him for the USA Championships in Carson, Calif. That competition serves as the trials for this summer's World Championships.

"We're excited about taking him there," Haines said.

* CBS will televise the NCAA meet on a tape-delay basis at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with the 400 scheduled to be shown.