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http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2010/06/ncaa_track_field_championships_41.html

EUGENE - Decathlete Nick Trubachik was the first Portland State athlete to make the NCAA Championships since the PSU track program became Division I in 1997.

But Trubachik didn't want to just make an appearance - he wanted to place. And that is exactly what he did, breaking his personal record in the final three events, en route to a seventh place comeback finish in the decathlon Friday.

"My goal was top eight and I got it," Trubachik said. "I put my heart out there and I got stuff back."

Coming into the day, though, the senior was in eleventh place after Thursday's five events. His 15th place finish in the 110-meter hurdles, Friday's first event, didn't help matters.

"The hurdles didn't go my way but I tried to keep my head up and then keep going," Trubachik said.

And that's what he did, setting personal records in three of the next four events - pole vault, javelin and the 1500 meters.

"I've had an injury ... and it finally healed up a couple of days ago (so) I was able to throw today," Trubachik said of his second-place finish in the javelin. "That was a surprise."

The comeback was enough to give him seventh place by one point and earn Portland State some recognition in the process.

"I hope (my result) picks up (PSU track) a little bit more," Trubachik said. "They're doing a great job, so the next couple of years the NCAA is going to hear a lot about Portland State. I'm excited about that."

Men's 400 hurdles: A rivalry came to a fever pitch in the final of the 400-meter men's hurdles, but rivals Jeshua Anderson of Washington State and Johnny Dutch of South Carolina just saw it as another chapter of their friendship.

The year after having finished second to Anderson, Dutch overtook the two-time defending champion in the final 100 yards to win the competition for the first time.

"Getting second last year really kept me really hungry," Dutch said. "I'm not going for any place but first this year."

Despite his own drive to win a third consecutive title, Anderson said he was very happy for Dutch, who was his roommate in Poland for the 2008 World Juniors.
 
"It was 1-2, and that's the way I like it," Anderson said of their finishes. "I'm just happy for him."

With both of them heading to Des Moines, Iowa, in two weeks for the USA Track & Field Championships, this friendly rivalry is far from over.

Men's 100 meters: By the time Florida sprinter Jeff Demps looked up, he knew it was over.

With a strong 2.5 mph wind at the runners' backs, Demps won the 100, finishing 13 hundredths of a second ahead of the competition.

"Once I came up, I kind of knew that I was going to win," Demps said.

Going into the final day of the competition, the Gators trail Texas A&M by eight points in the men's team standings.

"I knew my team needed the points and that kind of made me run harder," Demps said. "It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the relays, so I look forward to it."

Jeremy Taiwo: The Hayward Field crowd got a scare in the morning's first competition of the day when Washington decathlete Jeremy Taiwo had a face-first fall in the 110 hurdles and was on the ground for more than five minutes.

Taiwo, who had been in fifth place in the decathlon, had facial abrasions and a probable concussion. He is believed to be OK but was taken to River Bend hospital as a precaution.