Troy University Athletics
Trojans Host Coach O Invitational
4/25/2008 5:00:00 AM | Track & Field
TROY, Ala. - The Troy University Trojans track and field program hosts the annual Coach O Invitational, beginning at 11 am on the campus of Troy University.
The Trojans will be competing against Sun Belt Conference foes Middle Tennessee State University, the University of South Alabama and Western Kentucky University. They will also host in-state rivals Auburn University, Jacksonville State University and the University of West Alabama; along with Clayton State University, Florida A&M University and Tennessee State University.
A full list of teams can be found on the attached set of meet notes.
The Trojans will field a full squad and have several athletes trying to better their regional qualifying marks, and others who have come up short in recent weeks trying to hit the NCAA regional qualifying mark.
Senior Tawanna Meadows is currently ranked third in the Mideast Region in the 100-meter dash and ninth in the nation, and she is also ranked eighth in the Mideast Region in the 200-meter dash and 23rd in the nation. She will be competing in both events this weekend, seeded first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.31 seconds and the same in the 200-meters with a time of 23.49. She will be competing against a large field in both contests - 32 participants in the 100-meter dash and 38 in the 200-meter dash.
Meanwhile, sophomore Tiphanie Baker is ranked eighth in the Mideast Region and 35th in the nation in the discus with a distance of 50.30 meters. She will be seeded first in the event, just ahead of teammate Monique Jordan at 47.24 meters (qualifying mark is 47.30 meters).
Senior Juzil Rudolph joined the list of regional qualifiers last weekend with a jump of 6.04 meters in the long jump, ranking her 17th in the Mideast Region and 64th nationally.
Along with Jordan, junior Agata Cichoszewska will look to improve upon her triple jump status this weekend. So far this season, Cichoszewska has jumped a distance of 12.01 meters and 12.02 meters, with the regional qualifying mark standing at 12.32 meters.
On the men's side, the Trojans have qualified four different athletes in five different events for the NCAA Regional later this season.
O'Darien Bassett is ranked first in the Mideast Region and tied for fourth nationally in the long jump with a distance of 7.78 meters. He will be competing in just his second meet of the season and is seeded first in the meet. Meanwhile, Norman Austin is ranked 19th in the region and 81st in the nation in the javelin, and will try to improve upon his standing this weekend.
Leander McKenzie, who has broken the school record in the 110-meter hurdles on back-to-back weekends, will attempt to improve upon his ninth place ranking in the region and 48th place standing in the nation in the same event this weekend. Meanwhile, Lamar Hicks is ranked in the region and in the nation in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. He is ranked 13th in the region and 56th in the nation in the 100-meter dash, while he is ranked 12th in the region in the 200-meter dash and 43rd in the 200-meter dash.
The 4x100-meter relay team has narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Regional three weekends this season, including the last two meets. The team of Desmond Brown, Burke Leonce, Antonio McLeod and Hicks will look to qualify for the mark on their home track.
The meet begins at 11 am at the Jesse H. Colley Track on the campus of Troy University. Results will be posted at the conclusion of the meet.
