BOSTON – Amy Acuff doesn’t have second thoughts about competing on the indoor circuit any more.
Acuff won the women’s high jump at 6 feet, 3 1/2 inches in the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center for her fourth indoor national title at the Reggie Lewis Center on Saturday.
The three-time Olympian from UCLA also earned a berth on the U.S. team for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Valencia, Spain on March 7-9.
“I feel that I can go and have an impact. That’s what my motive is,” Acuff said.
Acuff won the 2007 indoor title but had been hesitant about jumping indoor season because she was concerned that might be a distraction her preparation for the U.S.
Olympic Trials in June. Those doubts were erased after she jumped 6-4 in her season debut at the Run for the Dream meet in Fresno on Jan. 21.
“I started having the best practices of my career,” said Acuff, who has an outdoor best of 6-7 set in 2003. “I thought ‘Indoors is going to work this year.’ It’s just hard to congeal everything. But the combination of training is working really well to be competitive this early. So I am going to go with it.”
Acuff’s only disappointment was not having an opportunity to take a shot at the American indoor record of 6-7 on Saturday. Acuff won with a second-attempt clearance of 6-3 1/2 over Chaunte Howard (6-2 ) and then had three narrow misses at 6-6.
“Technically, I am OK, ” Acuff said. “There’s just little errors here and there. And the error changed each time. It’s kind of like plugging holes in a dam.
Once I get those things to line up, it will be just fine.”
Andra Manson won the men’s high jump at 7-6 with Jesse Williams, the 2006 NCAA indoor and outdoor champion from USC, in second at 7-5 .
Wilson High graduate Lashinda Demus and Angel Perkins, formerly of Gahr, advanced to today’s women’s 400-meter finals after placing third in their respective heats.
Demus, the 2005 World 400-meter hurdles silver medalist, timed 54.06 and Perkins clocked 54.41.
Carmelita Jeter, the 2007 World Championships women’s 100-meter bronze medalist from Cal State Dominguez Hills, will run in today’s women’s 60-meter semifinals after the first round was cancelled and the meet schedule pushed back two hours because of inclement weather.
In other finals on Saturday, Aarik Wilson won the triple jump at 55-5 and Christ Wurth-Thomas won the women’s 1,500 meters in 4:14.21. Both marks were the best by an American this year.
Matt Tegenkamp defended his 3,000-meter title in 8:02.52 and Shannon Rowbury won the women’s 3,000 in 8:55.19. Brad Walker, the defending World indoor and outdoor champion, won the pole vault at 18-8 .
