NORTHRIDGE “”mdash; Craig Everhart knew it was simply a matter of
time before he broke 45 seconds in the 400 meters. But perhaps it
took his winning time of 44.89 for the competition to realize he
was not only capable, but a viable NCAA threat. During this
weekend’s NCAA West Regionals, the Bruin beat Arizona
State’s nationally ranked duo, Lewis Banda and Jason Barton,
to take home the individual title. “I knew they were
mad,” Everhart said of his Sun Devil rivals. “Some
people have said they thought they were invincible. But I guess
not. Everyone has their time.” Until this weekend, Banda had
the top mark in the nation, with Barton a close fourth. Though
Everhart acknowledges both he and ASU’s two sprinters have a
mutual respect for each other, he also hinted that there was no
love lost between them. Now, with Everhart’s sub-45-second
performance, the stage has been set for a great duel between the
three (along with Baylor’s Jeremy Wariner and Darold
Williamson) at Nationals next week. This weekend was the third meet
in a row that Everhart has set a new personal record, after his
Pac-10 Championship time of 45.19 and the UCLA-USC dual
meet’s 45.39. But leading up to Saturday, both he and his
coach knew it was time. “We both thought he could run under
45 today,” sprints coach Tony Veney said. “His race at
Pac-10 was outside the plan. He needed to back off the pace and run
well today.” After his race in the 400m, Everhart went even
faster in the 4x400m relay. As the anchor leg, he ran a 44.5-second
split to take the Bruins from seventh to third, behind ASU and
Oregon. Everhart’s new time in the 400m earned him an
invitation to this summer’s Olympic Trials in Sacramento. Any
time under 45 seconds is an automatic qualifier. There, he’ll
likely face both Banda and Barton again. “I know (Banda and
Barton) are going to be good competition,” Everhart said.
“But I still have bigger fish to fry.”
PROVING HIMSELF: After his record-setting
performance in the 400m hurdles at the Pac-10 Championships,
Brandon Johnson knew he had to prove it wasn’t a fluke.
Saturday he got one step closer, running 49.64 to win the event.
“I need this step,” he said. “It was a good,
solid performance.” Until Pac-10s, Johnson had only run
51.15, after injuring his leg early in the outdoor season. After
the blistering 48.85 at the conference championships, Johnson was
looking for some consistency at the faster speeds. “At
Pac-10s, he was on an emotional high,” Veney said. “To
run today was more difficult because the expectations were
high.” “I really believe he could run what he did at
Pac-10 again,” Veney added. So does Johnson, who said he was
aiming at a sub-48 time in the near future.