39 Individual & 4 Relay Teams Set For NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
June 4, 2008
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA will be sending 45 student-athletes to compete in 55 events in the 2008 NCAA Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa. The four-day event will be hosted by Drake University at the Drake Stadium. C-USA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD NOTEBOOK & TOP PERFORMANCES 2008 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL The men will be represented by 13 athletes competing 13 events, while the women will have 32 individuals battling for a national title in 42 events. Rice women will be sending the largest team contingent with nine, followed by UTEP's eight and Houston's six. SMU will have four at nationals, while Memphis and Southern Miss will each have two. One distance runner will be representing UAB. For the men, UTEP will be sending eight individuals, followed by two from Houston and one each from Memphis, Tulsa and Rice. Six individuals enter the NCAA Championships ranked among the Top 5 in the nation in their respective events. Topping the chart is UTEP's Blessing Okagbare who holds the nation's top mark of 13.97m (45-10") in the women's triple jump and ranks second in the long jump with a leap of 6.78m (22-3"). The sophomore, who won both events at the league outdoor championship, will also run the fourth leg of the 4x100m relay team. Ranking second in the nation in the shot put is senior Susan King of Memphis. King owns a career-best mark of 17.84m (58-6.5") in the event. She concluded in C-USA Outdoor Championship by earning Performance of the Meet and High Point Scorer of the Meet. Leading the nation for most of the outdoor season in the women's 3,000m steeplechase was SMU freshman standout Silje Fjortoft. Fjortoft, the C-USA Freshman of the Year in Cross Country and Outdoor Track & Field, clocked a time of 9:59.01 to rank fifth best in the NCAA.
Leading the nation in the men's pole vault is sophomore Jason Colwick of Rice. Colwick placed second at the NCAA Midwest Regional with a mark 5.41m (17-9"). He has held the top NCAA mark of 5.55m (18-2.5") since April 5. UTEP has a pair of senior field athletes that rank among the Top 5 in their respective events. Mickael Hanany is second in the high jump, while Alex van der Merwe ranks fourth in the javelin. Both finished second in their events at the NCAA Midwest Regional with marks of 2.25m (7-4.5") in the high jump and 69.92m (229-5") in the javelin, respectively. Hanany, who redshirted outdoors a year ago, returns to the NCAA Finals after competing in the high jump in 2004, 2005 and 2006. His top finish was second in the event in 2005. van der Merwe will be making his third NCAA appearance. Colwick, Hanany and van der Merwe each won a gold medal at the C-USA Outdoor Championships. Following the conclusion of the meet, Hanany was awarded the Performance of the Meet medal for his 7.59m (24-10.75") clearance in the high jump. CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) will be airing live coverage of the NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday, June 13th from 7-10 p.m. CST. CBS will also broadcast live coverage of the final day of competition from 3-5 p.m. CST. Presently no live streams are available. C-USA'S NCAA TRACK AND FIELD PARTICIPANTS Student-Athlete, School (season-best time/mark) MEN 800m 1500m 3,000m Steeplechase 10,000m 400m Hurdles High Jump Pole Vault Hammer Javelin WOMEN 400m 800m 1500m 3,000m Steeplechase 5,000m 10,000m 100m Hurdles 4x100m Relay 4x400m Relay Pole Vault Long Jump Triple Jump Shot Put Discus Hammer Javelin |
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