Trojans Head For Indoor SBC Championships

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. ? With the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend, coaches from around league voiced their opinions on who they thought will take top honors at the championships.

The Troy University Trojans were picked to finish fifth in the meet by the conference coaches, and, ironically, according to Troy University Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, Jill Lancaster, the Trojans were tied for fifth after tallying up the scoring sheets from the ranking lists.

“When we scored the meet off the ranking list we were tied for fifth with 72 points,” Lancaster said. “That is more than we scored last year (54 points) at the same meet. Obviously in couple of events, some teams and athletes had not participated (pentathlon and distance medley relay), so that skews scoring directly off the last as well as athletes choosing to double or not to double.”

The Trojans will send a few athletes who are at the top of their game heading into the Sun Belt Championships, ranking at the top of the lists after the indoor season.

Juzil Rudolph is ranked in the top five in two events and in the top 10 in two other events. Rudolph, who finished second in the pentathlon at LSU, is the top-ranked pentathlete in the field this season and she is ranked fourth in the hurdles. The two events in which she is in the top 10 are the high jump (ninth) and triple jump (tied for eighth).

Tawanna Meadows, who has all ready provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 6.90 in the 60, is the top-ranked runner in the 55-meter dash this season and is second in the 200-meters. Her provisional time was met in the first meet of the season, the Clemson Invitational, on January 18.

Agata Cichoszewska is the fourth-ranked triple jumper in the Sun Belt Conference this season with a jump of 12.07 meter at the LSU Bayou Bengal Invitational in January, while Tiphanie Baker is ranked fourth in the weight throw and 11^th in the shotput. Baker scored the first points for the Trojans last season as a freshman.

“If we can get the points that we looked at in the ranking lists we will definitely improve on last season's placing,” Lancaster said. “The point spread is closing in on the previous dominate teams, and this should be a fun and competitive conference meet.”

The Trojans will also turn to four seniors who should boost the team's performance in the relays and individual events. Erin Clymer is ranked fourth in the high jump this season and is a past scorer in the pentathlon, while Jocelyn Williams will run in the relays as a past scorer for the Trojans, Karla Blankenship will participate in an event that she has scored in previous seasons ? the pole vault ? and Shenita Howell has shown improvements in her throws this season and can contribute.

“We have a group of seniors that can contribute this season,” Lancaster said. “We also have a set of newcomers who can make an immediate impact who are ranked in the top 10 in the conference in their events.”

Those athletes are Porsche Holden (fifth in hurdles, eighth in long jump and fourth in pentathlon) and Shelisia Crawford (ninth in the 55-meters).

In the women's competition coaches were split between Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee taking first place. In the end, WKU was picked as the favorite to take the top spot followed by Middle Tennessee and North Texas in third place.

The Lady Toppers will be led by sophomore Janet Jesang who currently leads the Sun Belt in the 3000 meters and is ranked fourth in the mile. Jesang, who won the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Women's Cross Country title, will hope to lead WKU to victory with the help of the 4x400 meter relay team. The Lady Toppers relay team is currently ranked first in the event and their best time this season is over two seconds faster than the second fastest team.

Middle Tennessee will also be led by their sophomore distance runner, ZamZam Sangau. Sangau currently holds the top spot in the SBC in the mile by over seven seconds and is ranked fifth in the 3000 meters. Sangau set an NCAA provisional time in the mile and will look to better her time at the championships. In addition to Sangau, sophomore Sarah Nambawa will also help lead the Blue Raiders. Nambawa, who is currently first place in the triple jump, also reached an NCAA provisional mark when she jumped 13.15 meters at the Kentucky Invitational in January.

The Mean Green of North Texas will hope to pick up momentum with the help of sprinters Lauren Wiggins and Ciara Smith. Junior Wiggins is first in the SBC in the 55 meter hurdles with an NCAA provisional time and fifth in the 55-meter dash. Smith currently is first in both the 200 meters and the 400 meters.

Finally in the women's championship, Florida International was picked to finish fourth and Florida Atlantic finished tied for sixth place. Arkansas State was voted to finish in eighth place, South Alabama and Louisiana-Monroe tied for ninth place and UALR and Louisiana-Lafayette were picked in 10th and 11th place respectively.

The 2008 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships will be hosted by Middle Tennessee and will take place on February 23-24 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

You can catch all the action from the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship live from the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, TN. This is an SBC Extra exclusive that will be free for anyone to watch. Just fill out the required registration information on SunBeltSports.org and get ready for excitement streamed live to your computer February 23 and 24. SBC Extra is a broadband video channel that is the ultimate place for fans of Sun Belt member schools on the web! SBC Extra is powered by SunBeltSports.org, the Official web site of the Sun Belt Conference.

Troy University Athletics

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