Sun Belt Championships Start Friday

Meet Notes [.pdf] :: Championship Central

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (TroyTrojans.com) – The preparation that begun back in the fall will take center stage this weekend as the Troy University track and field program takes part in the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The meet will be held on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University beginning on Friday morning.

“One thing we are proud of with our team is that they come to compete no matter what the situation,” Troy University Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jill Lancaster said. “They have been able to rise above expectations time and time again.

“As final perpetrations are made, as a coach I think of last fall and where we began to get here. The work has been done in preparation for this, and this weekend will be a team effort – which is something we take very seriously. I feel we are ready to compete.”

The meet begins on Friday morning with the multi-events with Grant Bullington going for the men's side in the decathlon; while the women will send an unprecedented three student-athletes into competition in the heptathlon. Veronica Bryant leads the trio that features a pair of freshmen in Adria Hill and Kierra Lyles; both Bryant and Hill have competed in the multi-events this season.

This year's team will look to their veterans to lead the charge this season, with a pair of those – Bullington and Bryant – competing in the multi-events to start the meet.

“The team will look to veteran conference scorers Grant Bullington and Enock Kirui on the men's side,” Lancaster said. “The women will look to 2010 Sun Belt high jump champion Veronica Bryant, as well as Sylvia Chirchir and Ashley Evans to lead the charge for points.

“These athletes look to provide the leadership to the other athletes to kick off the first day of the championships. All these athletes are just beginning their three day journey of competition and will double back on the following days for the Trojans.”

The Trojans have several student-athletes who are ranked in the top 48 on the men's side, and will look to keep those rankings after this week to move on to the East Preliminary Round. The Trojans have five different student-athletes ranked in the top 48, headlined by Martins Pildavs in the javelin. He is joined by Neko Freeman (100-meters), Stanley Arukwe (100 and 200-meters), Mackenzie Howell (javelin) and the 4x100-meter relay team.

On the women's side, while no one is ranked in the top 48, some key performances this week could move several of those athletes into the top 48 regionally. Ja-Courtney Alexander is just outside the top 48 in the 100-meters (66), 200-meters (87) and 400-meters (58); while Veronica Bryant is just outside in the heptathlon (90) and Brynn Forsythe in the hammer (82).

Although Alexander is listed in the three categories, she will declare in just the 400-meters this weekend. In that event, the sophomore is ranked third in the conference behind Charmisha Morrow of Arkansas State and Lashae White of FIU.

After the multi-events on Friday, the meet picks up on Saturday with a host of preliminary running events. There will also be five throwing events and the multi-events wrap up on Saturday afternoon.

“Alexander and Ariel Cavazos lead a group young sprinters who look to follow in their footsteps on Saturday,” Lancaster said. “Jasmine Patton, who has impressive improvements over the last few weeks, looks to score in the hurdles and jumps; while our throwers look to make a big move on the point board.

We have some athletes who are stepping up and challenging themselves for the team in new areas as well, what more could a program ask for? The jumps will look to Terrell Irons who has consistently put up marks to score. These athletes know they can help set the tone for the start of the championship and are ready to get things rolling.”

In the throws competition, the Trojans have a multitude of student-athletes ranked within scoring range at the outdoor championships. On the women's side, the Trojans have four athletes – Erin Walker, Evans, Karen Wyatt and Nicole Studstill – listed in the top nine of the conference; while in the hammer, Forsythe is ranked fifth overall. On the men's side, Eddie Lynn is ranked fifth in the discus, while Cody Bahrke is ranked fourth in the hammer throw – both set school records this season.

On the men's side, the Trojans have several athletes ranked among the leaders heading into this weekend.

Freeman and Arukwe are two-three in the 100-meters, trailing only Luther Ambrose of ULM – a finalist at nationals last year. Arukwe is also among the best in the conference in the 200-meters as he is ranked second, just behind Anton Graphenreed of South Alabama. Enock Kirui is ranked third in the 10,000-meters behind Shadrack Kipchirchir of WKU and Patrick Strong of North Texas; while he is also fourth in the conference in the 3000-meter steeplechase heading into the championships.

The 4x100-meter relay team has the best time in the conference this season by 0.15 seconds over the team from North Texas. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the javelin where the conference record has been broken three times this season. TROY junior Martins Pildavs is ranked third in the conference as he broke the mark in the opening weekend of outdoor season. He trails Richard McKay of ULM and Ignacio Guerra of WKU in the rankings, with the new mark of 78.69 meters.

“The men will rely on conference runner-up Neko Freeman and senior regional sprinter Stanley Arukwe who have improved dramatically over last season,” Lancaster said. “Chris Upshaw looks to improve on his finish last year, and could provide some points for us this year. The group of 800-meters men have the talent to make a move to be in the finals on Sunday. Another area of strength for us right now is in the hurdles, where they have been improving dramatically as well and are primed to make the finals.

“Martins, a newcomer and javelin specialist, along with conference scorer Matt Braswell look to produce big in javelin but not before Pildavs utiizlies his talents in the other throws for the team. In the throws, Lynn and Bahrke have continued to impress this season.”

The meet concludes on Sunday with a few athletes biding their time before competing. Larry Henry, the third-ranked high jumper in the conference, will wait until the final day of the meet to compete; while Haley Davies will go in the 1500-meters for the women.

“Sunday is a big day as we have some athletes waiting until then to compete,” Lancaster said. “The field events will continue with qualifiers on the track and the addition of the relays, a source of pride for our program.”

Results will be posted once they become available.

For all the latest news on Troy University Athletics, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/TroyAthletics, and become a fan on Facebook.

Troy University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos