Feb. 15, 2007

MEMPHIS -- In their final preparations for the Conference USA Indoor Championships, the Memphis track team's field athletes will be traveling to Cape Girardeau, Mo. on Friday for the SEMO Invitational hosted by Southeast Missouri State.

Only the Tiger throwers and several of the team's jumpers will be making the trip to this field-only event, and head coach Kevin Robinson is looking for the smaller atmosphere to allow his athletes to hit some big marks.

"I'm just looking for us to make some final improvements before conference," Robinson said. "This is kind of a small, laid back meet, and I think it will be a good atmosphere for our team to get some full attempts without having the pressure of worrying about making the finals."

Particularly noticeable among the team's throwers are standouts Gail Lee, Sivan Aballi and Steffen Nerdal.

Lee has qualified for the NCAA Championships in both the shot put and the weight throw, while Aballi has provisionally qualified in the shot. Both competitors will have a chance to better their qualifying marks for the NCAA Championships this weekend.

Nerdal has led the Tiger men in the weight throw for three straight meets, including last week at the Tyson Invitational when he turned in a mark of 61-1.25. The Norwegian native needs just one additional foot to reach the provisional qualification for the NCAA Championships.

"I think most of our athletes are at a high level already," Robinson said. "This is just one last chance for us to get better as we go into the conference meet."