May 25, 2007

IRVING, Texas - Conference USA has 16 teams and numerous individuals set to compete in this weekend's NCAA Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field Regionals. Leading the way is Houston with 19 qualifiers, followed by UTEP's 18 and Memphis with 13.

At the Regionals, the top five finishers in each event will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif. There are four Regional sites making a total of 20 qualifiers with the possibility of five to eight at-large bids. The 10,000 meters, heptathlon and decathlon have automatic and provisional marks for the NCAA Championships. Automatic qualifiers will make the Championships leaving at-large bids available to athletes with provisional marks.

For links to live results, live video and meet information go to http://www.ncaasports.com/track-and-field.

The following are C-USA Outdoor Track and Field Notebooks for Regional action.

East Carolina: East Carolina will be well represented at the 2007 Men's and Women's NCAA Division I East Regional Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday at the Percy Beard Track and Field on the campus of the University of Florida.

A total of six individual athletes and a pair of Pirate relay squads earned post-season qualification and will compete for the opportunity to advance to the NCAA National Championships, scheduled for June 6-9 at Sacramento, Calif.

On the women's side, Camelia Morman will compete in the triple jump while Chelsea Salisbury will represent the Pirates in the hammer throw. Morman (12.47m) posted her top mark of the season at the Duke Twilight meet while Salisbury's top mark (58.62m) came at the Carolina Fast Times meet.

For the men, both Brandon Small and Chris Richardson will run in the 400 meter dash while Terrence Myers and Eric Frasure will compete in the hammer throw. Small's top time (46.32) came at the WCU Invitational while Richardson's (47.16) was just two weeks ago at the Conference USA Championships. Myers recorded his best mark of the year (60.97m) at the Florida Relays while Frasure set his season best (58.81m) at the WCU Invitational.

East Carolina's 4x100 relay unit, which turned in a season-best time of 40.17 at the Tiger Invitational, also won its first ever C-USA title for the Pirates two weeks ago. The squad consists of Aidan Sanderson, Jarek Hewett, David Rucker and Kevin Thompson. The 4x100 team recorded NCAA regional qualifying marks in all seven of their attempts this season. In addition, the men's 4x400 relay squad will be making the trip to Gainesville after qualifying for the regionals at the C-USA Championships. The team, comprised of Small, Sanderson, Bryson Bowling and Richardson, recorded a time of 3:09.92 at the outdoor championships to earn a spot in Gainesville.

HOUSTON: The Houston track and field team travels to Des Moines, Iowa for the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Cougars will be represented by 19 student-athletes at the meet. Leading the way for the women is senior Ebonie Floyd. The Houston, Texas native qualified in the 100, 200, 400, 4x100 and 4x400. She will compete in the 100 and 200 races and as a member of the 4x100 relay team.

Competing with her on the relay will be freshmen Hyleta Young and Quin'shundolyn McPherson and sophomore Seun Adigun. Adigun will also be competing in the 100 meter hurdles along with sophomore LeeA'ndrea Robinson. McPherson has also qualified in the long and triple jump and the 200 meters, however she will not be entered in the long jump competition.

Also competing for the women will be freshman Ashley Bryant (discus), sophomore Dayo Ogunniyi (long jump) and senior Rachel Easley (long jump).

Last season, at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Austin, Texas, the women finished ninth with 31 points and the men finished 12th with 21 points.

Leading the way for the men will be junior Tremaine Smith who qualified in both the 100 and 200 meters but will only be competing in the 100 meter race.

Houston's high jump duo of junior Ivan Diggs and senior Tristain Whitley will also be entered in the Regional meet. Freshman Alex Bentley (high jump), junior James Lee (discus), junior Steve Magness (1,500), along with the 4x400 relay team of freshmen Justin Davis and Pearson Crichlow, senior Chris White and junior Dominic Milton will also make the trip to Des Moines.

Last season, at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Austin, Texas, the women finished ninth with 31 points and the men finished 12th with 21 points.

MEMPHIS: Several members of the Memphis track and field team will be looking to earn a berth in the National Championships as competition begins Friday at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships at Missouri's Audrey J. Walton Stadium in Columbia, Mo. Individually, the Tigers have 13 athletes and that have qualified for the regional meet.

Memphis senior Gail Lee stands second in the Mideast in the shot put (16.47m), and is looking to for her fourth NCAA Championship appearance in that event. The two-time All-American will also compete in the hammer throw and discus.

Freshman Steffen Nerdal enters the meet ranked in the top-10 in a pair of events. The Norwegian stands fourth in the hammer with his school record distance 211-2 (64.36m) of and seventh in the discus.

Several other competitors on the men's side rank in the top-10 in the region in their respective competitions and pose legitimate threat to reach the NCAA Championships.

Javelin thrower Christian McDonald ranks ninth in that event, while Conference USA long jump and triple jump champion Brandon Winbush ranks highly in both of those contests. Cordova native Larry Harris stands eighth in the men's 400-meter hurdles.

RICE: Juniors Marissa Daniels and Chandra Ewing lead a contingent of 11 Rice entrants at the NCAA Midwest Regional Track & Field Championships, scheduled to begin Friday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Daniels, the Conference USA champion in the 10,000 meters, will run the 5000 at Des Moines. She was the C-USA runner-up in the 5k, and set the school record last year. Daniels has also qualified in the 10,000 at the NCAA national meet, but the event is not contested at the regional level.

Ewing set a personal best of 59.45 to win the 400 meters hurdles at the C-USA meet and is making her first appearance at the national level. The Canadian stick-skimmer has improved by more than 2.5 seconds since last year, and is ranked eighth in the region.

Senior Funmi Jimoh will be busy this weekend, as she competes in the 100 meters hurdles, the long jump and the 4x100 relay. Jimoh has the best mark in the Midwest region in the long jump, and is among the national leaders with her 6.62 meters/21-8.75 effort. She also ranks sixth regionally in the 100H at 13.39, and has provisionally qualified for the national meet in the heptathlon, which is not contested at the regional level.

Speedsters Desarie Walwyn and Shakera Reece will be in the 100 and 200, and will team up with Jimoh and LaToya Adekoya in the 4x100 relay. Reece won the CARIFTA under-20 title in the 100 earlier this season with a school-record 11.34 clocking and has a 23.50 to her credit in the 200. Walwyn enters the regional meet with bests of 11.74 and 23.86.

C-USA champions Kate Gorry and Rachel Greff are potential national qualifiers, too, with Greff seeking a return trip after placing 10th last year. Gorry won the 3000 meters steeplechase at the conference meet and has a best of 10:42.87, while Greff won the pole vault with a season-best 4.00m/13-1.5. She is ranked seventh going into the regional meet.

Triple jumpers Shardee Caesar and Jenny Glover continue a strong Rice tradition in the three-bounder. Caesar was sixth in the C-USA meet and has a best of 12.43/40-9.5, and Glover had a lifetime best of 12.32m/40-5 this season.

In the javelin, junior Ulrika Hinson has a best 0f 44.58/146-3 and was fourth at the C-USA championships.

A pair of seniors lead a small but powerful Rice men's contingent at the NCAA Midwest Regional Track & Field Championships, which begin Friday afternoon at fabled Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Pablo Solares is the region's fastest entrant in the 1500 meters, and the two-time Conference USA champion is among the nation's fastest with his 3:40.34 clocking from the Arkansas Twilight meet on May 4. Solares set C-USA meet records in winning the 800 and 1500 two weeks ago, and is favored to advance to the national meet. The senior from Richardson is concentrating on the 1500, forgoing his spot in the shorter event.

Thrower Luke Stadel is another C-USA champion who is expected to advance to the national meet for the Owls after winning the shot put title and finishing second in the discus at the league meet. Stadel, a senior from Osage City, Kan., has a best of 18.04 meters/59-2.25 in the shot put and has tossed the discus 55.19m/181-1 this year. His father, Ken, still holds the Rice records in both events.

Two Owls will compete in the pole vault, with C-USA runner-up Tyler Whitham and conference leader Jason Colwick looking for a top-five finish. Colwick, a freshman who won the Texas 5A state meet for San Marcos last year, was injured and missed the C-USA championships, but has a best of 5.20m/17-0.75 this season. Whitham cleared 5.05m/16-6.75 at the Arkansas Twilight meet to nab a regional place.

In the high jump, last year's NCAA ninth-placer, Omar Wright, is seeking a return to the national meet. Wright, who tied the school record with a 2.19m/7-2.25 leap last year, has a best of 2.15m/7-0.5 this year. He is the national record holder for the Cayman Islands, and finished third at the C-USA championships.

SMU: Four student-athletes will represent SMU at the NCAA Midwest Regionals. They are senior Andrea Kvetova, sophomore Christina Mueller, senior Gaelle Niare, and senior Alesha Stegemoller.

Kvetova posted a qualifying mark of 52.19 meters in the javelin at the Drake Relays in late April. She placed second in the javelin at the 2007 Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships earlier this month. Kvetova is making her third NCAA Regional appearance.

Mueller is competing in her first NCAA Regional. The 2007 C-USA outdoor champion in the discus, Mueller threw for an NCAA qualifying (and collegiate career best) mark of 49.67 meters at the league championships earlier this month.

Niare is also making her third-straight appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Regionals. A two-time All-American, Niare is coming off a big performance at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships, winning league titles in the heptathlon and the high jump. Niare will compete in the high jump (1.80 meters) and the long jump (6.12 meters). She placed second in the high jump at last year's NCAA Regionals and finished in eighth at the 2006 NCAA Championships.

Stegemoller joins Niare in the high jump at this year's NCAA Regionals, turning in a 1.80-meter performance at the CSU-Northridge meet in mid-March. She is making her second NCAA Regional appearance.

SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Mississippi men's and women's track and field teams will have 11 participants travel to Columbia, Mo., where they will compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships.

The women's team is coming off a ninth-place finish at the Conference USA Championships. Senior Tanika Liburd, who won her third long jump title in four years, turned in an outstanding performance. The long jump mark of 6.49m (21-3.50) tied the C-USA record set by Houston's Jenny Adams in 2000. Liburd finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.73 and anchored the 4x100-meter relay team that finished fifth with a regional qualifying time of 45.44. Liburd also won her second-straight indoor long jump title and qualified for the NCAA Indoor National Championship, where she placed eighth in the finals, becoming only the second indoor All-American in the women's program. She currently ranks No. 4 in the long jump on the list of Dandy Dozens by Trackwire.com.

Senior Aaliyah Shareef finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 12.49m (40-11.75). Hana Prudilova recorded her regional qualifying mark in the javelin at the Alabama Relays. She placed sixth at the C-USA Championship. Freshman Ashley May will compete in the long jump, triple jump and on the 4x100-meter relay. Tori Wells and Karla Thurmond round out the 4x100-meter relay team.

The men's team is coming off a seventh-place finish at the C-USA Outdoor Championship. Junior Cornelius Duncan led the Golden Eagles, winning the 400-meter dash in a school record time of 45.83. The first-place finish was the first outdoor 400 meter title for Duncan. He also won the indoor title in the 400 meters. Duncan turned in the fastest qualifying time in the 200 meters, but finished second in the finals. He is currently ranked among the Dandy Dozen at No. 7 by Trackwire.com. Duncan also will compete on the 4x400-meter relay team with Marvin Pinnock, Cordell Kinn and Rascive Grant. The group finished second at the C-USA Meet with a time of 3:09.85.

TULSA: Tulsa's track and field program will now turn its attention to the Midwest Regional Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend. The men will send two athletes, while eight women have qualified for regional action.

Edwin Henshaw and Rickey Wilson will be competing in the 5,000m and 110m hurdles and the 400m hurdles, respectively. Henshaw posted a school record run of 14:07.88 in the 5,000m at the Drake Relays earlier in the season on the same track on which the regional will be contested. Henshaw enters the weekend with the No. 17 time in the region, while Wilson's times rank No. 17 in the 110m hurdles and No. 19 in the 400m hurdles.

Wilson enters with a season best of 52.18 in the 400m hurdles, which he set at the K. T. Woodman Classic in Wichita, Kan., on April 15, and a week later he posted his best 110m hurdle time with a 14.19 at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.

Chantelle Willard and Shameka Holloway represent the Hurricane women in the sprints, with Willard running in the 200m and Holloway in the 400m. Willard posted a 23.89 to qualify for the regional, while Holloway clocked a 54.35 in the 400m.

Dawn Nagazina will run the 800m after moving to the regional on the strength of a 2:09.69 at the Conference USA Championships. Her time ranks her No. 22 in the region.

Coming off being selected as the C-USA Co-Freshman of the Year, TU Freshman Ashlea Gilfillan will participate in the 3,000m steeple chase. Her time of 10:45.92 she posted at the C-USA Championships is a TU record and ranks her No. 19 in the region.

Alex Becker will run the 5,000m after posting a 16:04.64 back on March 31 at the Stanford Invitational to qualify. Her mark has her ranked No. 6 in the regional.

April Montgomery rounds out the runners for the Hurricane, as she will run the 400m hurdles. She qualified with a time of 59.60, which she posted at the C-USA Championships. Her time ranks her 11th in the region.

In the field events, Stephanie Jeffers will flex her muscles in the shot put and the discus. Her school record distance of 52-6.75 in the shot put is the sixth best distance in the region, while her toss of 160-11 in the discus will rank her No. 21 in the region.

Katy McGillen will finish out the TU participant and she will throw the javelin. She reached the regional with a throw of 156-8 at the C-USA Championships, and the mark is good for 11th in the region.

UAB: Five members of the UAB track and field team will compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field Championships beginning Friday at the Audrey J. Walton Stadium in Columbia, Mo. Seniors Erin Harris and Deborah Hawkins, juniors Tara Colvin and Whitney Mays and sophomore Alina Varpiotaite have all tallied regional-qualifying marks in a combined seven events during the season.

UAB will make its debut on Friday at 4:45 p.m. when both Harris and Hawkins compete in the women's long jump. Harris, who holds a seeding mark of 6.02 meters, will be the fifth competitor in the first flight, while Hawkins will jump ninth in flight two with a seeding mark of 6.04 meters.

Also on tap for Friday in prelims action, will be Colvin in the 400-meter dash at 5:50 p.m. and Varpiotaite in the 800 meters at 6:30 p.m. The event finals will be held on Saturday, with the top eight in each event's prelims advancing to the final race.

Colvin clocked a season-best time of 54.48 at the C-USA Outdoor Championships and will run in heat four of the 400 meters. Varpiotaite is seeded at 2:09.70 and will compete in the third heat of the 800 meters.

Saturday's schedule will feature Harris and Hawkins both competing in their second event of the meet, the triple jump, at 4:15 p.m. Harris is seeded fifth in the second flight at 12.55 meters, while Hawkins will go eighth in the same flight with a seeding mark of 12.44 meters.

Also competing on Saturday will be Mays in the 3000-meter steeplechase at 6:40 p.m. Mays will be running in section two and holds the region's sixth fastest time in the event at 10:31.90.

UCF: Junior Victoria Chin and freshman LaKendra Thames will represent UCF at the NCAA East Regional in Gainesville, Fla. Chin races in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday, May 25, while Thames competes in the discus on Saturday.

Chin qualified for her third straight NCAA Regional when she posted a winning time of 60.97 in the 400m hurdles at the FSU Relays. At the Conference USA Championship, she improved her time with a personal best 59.60, which ranks her 14th in the field of 28. The winners of each of the five heats plus the next three best times advance to the final, scheduled for 7:20 p.m. on Saturday.

Thames, meanwhile, makes her NCAA Regional debut in the discus. She qualified with a throw of 160-feet, three inches, which shattered the previous UCF school record of 153-8 was set by Tiffany Roebuck in 2004. Her effort ranks her 16th among the 30 athletes competing in the event.

UTEP: The UTEP track and field teams will send 18 individuals and one relay to the NCAA Midwest Regional in Des Moines, Iowa. The Miners will be looking to advance this group on to the national meet. UTEP enters the weekend with seven individuals currently ranking in the top five.

Dominic Kiprono Tanui (1:47.79) and Elias Koech (1:47.82) hold the top two spots in the region in the men's 800-meter.

Javelin throwers Alex van der Merwe and Erma Gene Evans have the top-two throws in the event this season. Van der Merwe has a season-best of 224-8 (68.49). Evans, who set the Saint Lucia national record at the C-USA Championships, has a best of 185-2 (56.45).

Oludamola Osayomi, who ranks fifth nationally, has the second-best mark entering the regional meet in the 100-meter dash. She has charted a time of 11.25 this season.

All-American Nelly Tchayem expects to be one of the top contenders in the triple jump. She ranks third in the region with a jump of 44-0 (13.41).

Patrick Mutai will be seeking his third trip to the NCAA Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He has run the region's fourth-best time of 8:48.11. Mutai has been an All-American in the event the last two years.

Other men competitors include Hans Eriksson (hammer), Nicodemus Ng'etich (5,000-meter run), All-American Daniel Ward (200-meter dash) and the 1,600-meter relay (John Alipio, Ward, Kiprono Tanui and Koech).

Ward is a two-time All-America in the indoor 200 and gained honors as part of the 400-meter relay outdoors last year.

The women will also compete Halimat Ismaila (400-meter dash), Alina Joaca-Bine (hammer), Fatimoh Muhammed (800), Olatunde Okusanya (400), Nina Schvedoff (hammer), Keisha Walkes (shot put, discus) and Kelly Young (1,500-meter run).

Muhammed is a two-time NCAA All-American in the 800. She was fifth last year outdoors and eighth during the 2007 indoor season.