Rashad sprints to victory in Mt. Sac 100
April 18, 2010WALNUT, Calif. (AP) -Southern California sprinter Ahmad Rashad won the 100 meters with a wind-aided time of 10.08 seconds at Mount San Antonio College Relays on Saturday.
Rashad, no relation to the former star NFL receiver of the same name, came into the meet having won Pac-10 titles in the 100 and 200 and finishing second in the 100 at the NCAA championships last year.
``I'm trying to make a name for myself,'' he said.
He beat a field Saturday that included Olympian Rodney Martin and former world champion Leroy Dixon.
Martin, a member of the 2008 4x100 relay team, finished sixth in 10.41. Dixon, a member of the 2007 world champion 4x100 relay, pulled up within the first 20 meters.
Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay finished last in the discus and false-started out of the 110 meter hurdles.
On Friday, Clay finished fourth in the 200 in 21.48 seconds at the Bryan Clay Invitational at nearby Azusa Pacific, his alma mater. He was to compete in the pole vault Saturday but said it conflicted with the 200.
``It was a rough day today,'' he said. ``Actually, it's been a rough weekend.''
Clay said that at this time of year, the start of the outdoor season, he hopes to have some good showings in the events he enters before heading to Europe. But four consecutive intense workouts left his legs tired.
He made just one fair throw in six tries, throwing the discus 153 feet, 2 inches, which was 33 feet less than the next highest finisher and 47-1 behind winner Jared Rome.
In the hurdles, he was the first of two participants to false start. Then he watched training partner Dominique DeGrammont of Haiti win in 13.58.
``Decathletes aren't used to the one false-start rule,'' he said with a smile. ``Looks like I've got to wait until a decathlon to get a good time.''
Olympian Allyson Felix anchored the winning 4x100 relay in 43.64, joining Virginia Powell, Carole Rodriguz and Nicole Leach.
Martin came back to join Shawn Crawford, Marquis Horn and David Neville and win the 4x100 in 39.9.
Before her relay win, Rodriguez, an Olympian from Puerto Rico, lost to American sprinter ChaRonda Williams in the 100. Williams ran 11.28, Rodriguerz 11.39. British Olympian Laura Turner finished fourth in 11.61.