Troy University Athletics
Trojans Begin Region Competition Today
5/30/2008 5:00:00 AM | Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Troy University Trojans track and field program will send 14 different athletes to compete in the NCAA Mideast Region at the University of Arkansas this weekend. The 14 athletes will compete in 14 different events on Friday and Saturday, attempting to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June.
Senior Tawanna Meadows will compete in three events for the Trojans, the most of any athlete on the Troy roster. Meadows will compete in the 100-meter dash, an event in which she is ranked 10th in the nation with a time of 11.26 seconds (wind-aided), which is also the third-fastest time in the Mideast Region. She will also compete in the 200-meter dash, an event in which she ran a time of 23.14 seconds that ranks third in the Mideast Region and 15th overall. She will conclude the meet with the 4x100-meter dash.
Senior Juzil Rudolph will be competing in two events each beginning with the 4x100-meter relay. Rudolph will also compete in the long jump, an event in which she qualified with a distance of 6.04 meters. The remaining female athletes, Agata Cichoszewska (triple jump), Tiphanie Baker (discus), Jocelyn Williams (4x100-meter relay), Porsche Holden (100-meter hurdles) and Shelisia Crawford (4x100-meter relay) will be competing in one event each in the regional meet.
On the men's side, senior Lamar Hicks leads the Trojans by competing in two events. Hicks will run in the 100-meter dash, an event in which he ran a time of 10.34 seconds (wind-aided) ranking 25th in the nation and 12th in the Mideast Region. He will also compete in the 200-meter dash, an event in which he ran a time of 21.06 seconds.
Other male athletes competing in the Mideast Region are O'Darien Bassett, Leander McKenzie, Desmond Brown, Lamontrey Stamper and Norman Austin will all be competing in one event each.
Bassett will compete in the long jump, after qualifying for both the long jump and triple jump (pulled out to concentrate on the long jump). The junior is ranked ninth in the nation and third in the Mideast Region with a distance of 7.91 meters. The jump is just 0.07 meters behind the longest jump in the region.
Austin will compete in the javelin after breaking the school record in the event with a throw of 64.78 meters at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships, while Stamper qualified for the Mideast Region during the preliminary round of the long jump competition at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships.
Meanwhile, Brown qualified for the region meet at the Last Chance Meet two weeks ago at Georgia Tech; while McKenzie ran a school record time of 14.01 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles at the Coach O Invitational at the end of April.
A top-five finish in any individual event and a top-three finish in a relay automatically qualify the athlete(s) for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa June 10-14. To be considered for an at-large bid, an individual athlete must finish sixth through 12th, and the relay teams must finish fourth through eighth.
The field events will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday, with running events starting at 3 p.m. at John McDonnell Field. On Saturday, field events will begin at 11 a.m. with running events beginning at 5 p.m. at John McDonnell Field. Gates will open one hour prior to the first event. Fans can park in Lots 44, 56, 72, 73 and 73A on both days of the meet. They can enter John McDonnell Field through the northwest corner gates. Visit www.hogwired.com for complete details of the championships.
