Troy University Athletics
Trojans Head to Texas for SBC Championship
5/6/2008 5:00:00 AM | Track & Field
TROY, Ala. - The Troy University track and field programs hit the road Tuesday afternoon headed to the University of North Texas for the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships beginning on Friday morning.
The Trojans are taking their full compliment of athletes in hope of a strong showing, and challenging the favorites in Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee for the conference crown.
Several Trojans are ranked among the best in the Sun Belt Conference, as well as having 12 athletes all ready qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in three weeks at the University of Arkansas.
Senior Tawanna Meadows is the leader among sprinters in the conference this season, running a league-best 11.26 seconds in the 100-meter dash. The time is 0.43 seconds faster than second place Miaie Williams of Western Kentucky. She also leads the conference in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.49, which is 0.53 seconds faster than second place Valerie Brown of Western Kentucky. Meadows is ranked in the top ten in the the nation and the top five in the Mideast Region in the 100-meter dash this season, while meeting the B-Standard for the Olympic Trials in June.
Meanwhile, teammate Shelisia Crawford is fourth in the conference in the 100-meter dash and in the 200-meter dash, running a time of 11.92 seconds in the 100-meters at the Coach O Invitational on April 26 and a time of 24.20 in the 200-meters at the same meet.
Jenean Corcoran is listed among the leaders in the conference in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:58.32, placing her seventh in the event. She has not participated in the event since the FSU Relays on March 28, while the other times (leader at 10:38.06) have set their times in the last three weeks. Jennifer Graham is ranked third in the 10,000-meters with a time of 40:33.71, trailing Jessica Baldino of UL-Monroe with a time of 39:18.47.
Meanwhile, freshman Porsche Holden qualified last week for the regionals in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.88 seconds, the third fastest time in the conference this season. She trails Lauren Wiggins of North Texas and Alysha Adams of North Texas (13.52 and 13.53 seconds) in the event. Teammate, Juzil Rudolph is ranked ninth in the conference with a time of 14.54 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold. Meanwhile, Holden is ranked fifth in the Sun Belt in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.20, trailing the leader (Toyria Mattear, Florida Atlantic) by over two seconds.
The 4x100-meter relay team of the Trojans set the best mark in the conference last weekend at the Coach O Invitational with a time of 45.40, over 0.34 seconds faster than second place North Texas. The time was also good enough to qualify the team for the NCAA Regionals. The 4x400-meter relay team is ranked sixth in the conference with a time of 3:51.39.
Meanwhile, in the field events, Erin Clymer is ranked fourth in the high jump with a height of 1.65 meters, just 0.13 meters behind Heather Davis of UL-Monroe heading into the weekend. Senior Karla Blankenship is ranked eighth in the conference in the pole vault with a height of 3.25 meters, while Rudolph is third in the long jump with a distance of 6.04 meters - just 0.16 meters behind Brandi Stanfield of North Texas. Agata Cichoszewska qualified for the NCAA Regionals last weekend, and is ranked third in the conference in the triple jump with a distance of 12.47 meters.
Tiphanie Baker leads all throwers for the Trojans, leading the conference in the discus with a qualifying distance of 50.30 meters, while teammates Monique Jordan and Shenita Howell are ranked third and fourth respectively. Howell is also ranked fourth in the javelin, while Megan Young is ranked eighth in the same event. Baker is also ranked third in the conference in the hammer with a distance of 50.84 meters, while Jordan is seventh and Howell 10th overall. Clymer and Chontia Allen are the only two athletes ranked in the heptathlon in the conference heading into the conference meet.
Meanwhile, on the men's side, sprinter Lamar Hicks leads all sprinters in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. He leads the 100-meters by 0.06 seconds over Middle Tennessee's Samuel Adade with a time of 10.40 seconds. He also leads the 200-meter dash by 0.09 seconds over Adade with a time of 21.12 seconds. Meanwhile, Burke Leonce is ranked ninth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.80 seconds in the 100-meters and seventh in the 200-meters with a time 21.69 seconds. Antonio McLeod is 10th in the 100-meters with a time of 10.84, while teammate Desmond Brown is eighth in the 200-meters with a time 21.74 seconds.
Matavis Madden, slowed by injuries all season, is ranked ninth in the 400-meters with a time of 48.27 seconds at the FSU Relays, while Michael Niezgoda is ranked eighth in the 800-meters with a time of 1:55.59. Tim Landry leads all distance runners for the Trojans, ranking 10th overall in the conference with a time of 4:01.53 in the 1500-meters, while Jeremy Moujoodi is ranked fifth in the conference in the 5000-meters with a time of 14:56.86.
Paul Boothe leads the conference in the 10,000-meters with a time of 33:41.61, followed closely by teammate Adam Bradley with a time of 35:03.17 in fourth place. Leander McKenzie leads the Trojans in the hurdle events, ranking second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.01 seconds at the Coach O Invitational, while Mike Conley is 10th in the same event with a time of 14.87 seconds at the FSU Relays. Meanwhile, Brown is ranked fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.08 seconds, while Conley is eighth with a time of 54.38 seconds.
The 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams are ranked in the top half of the conference, with the 4x100-meter team ranked second with a time of 40.69 seconds. Although not yet qualifying for the regionals, the team has improved every meet, and trails the leader in Western Kentucky by 0.15 seconds. The 4x400-meter relay team is ranked fifth in the conference with a time of 3:13.48.
In the field events, O'Darien Bassett is ranked first in the conference and Mideast Region, and second in the nation, in the long jump with a distance of 7.91 meters. The closest competitor to Bassett is Carl Morgan of Middle Tennessee State with a distance of 7.68 meters. Grant Bullington is ranked sixth in the conference in the high jump with a height of 2.00 meters, just 0.15 meters than Toby Edwards of North Texas. Joseph Callaway is fifth in the conference in the pole vault with a height of 4.60 meters, while teammates Bullington (4.47 meters) and Jeremy Cline (4.45 meters) are ranked seventh and ninth respectively.
Although Bassett leads the long jump, Lamontrey Stamper is ranked 10th in the same event with a distance of 7.06 meters at the LSU Tiger Invitational in early April. He is also eighth in the conference in the triple jump with a distance of 13.93 meters set at the Coach O Invitational.
The meet begins Friday and concludes late Sunday night in Denton.
