March 13, 2009

2009 NCAA Indoor Championship Website

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2009 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
Friday, March 13 - Saturday, March 14
Texas A&M - College Station, Texas - Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at the McFerrin Athletic Center

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A pair of University of Memphis track and field athletes is to compete at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the second day of competition on Saturday, March 14.

The championship will take place at Texas A&M's Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at the McFerrin Athletic Center on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14.

Memphis looks to grab All-America honors in three events as Norwegian junior Steffen Nerdal in the weight throw and Israeli senior Sivan Aballi in the shot put head to the championships.

"We had a great practice yesterday," said head coach Kevin Robinson. "We're really excited for this opportunity. This is exactly where these two belong. They deserved to be competing with the best in the NCAA and this is a great opportunity to prove themselves against the best athletes in the country and in the world."

As the strong hold of the Lady Tiger throwing group, Aballi is to represent Memphis in the shot put field. She is the final competitor of the first head in the group of 17 athletes which will begin the trial portion of competition at 3:45 p.m. (CST). This marks Aballi's first trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. She owns a season-best and 17th best performance in the NCAA of 16.03m (52.07.25) established at the McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 7. She also placed herself in the conference record books by taking home a C-USA individual title in the shot put with an NCAA provisional mark of 15.92m (52-02.75).

Nerdal has established himself as one of the premier throwers in C-USA history and one of the elite in the nation. The weight throw event begins at 5:00 p.m. (CST). As the No. 7 seed in the event, Nerdal is the third competitor in the second flight. He registered a season-best performance in the weight throw at the Rod McCravy Memorial where he recorded a toss of 21.56m (70.09.00) to automatically qualify for nationals. He picked up his second automatic mark en route to capturing back-to-back conference title in the event with a throw of 21.55m (70.08.5). He will be one of four juniors in the field. This is his first trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Norwegian native is the first men's competitor to represent Memphis at the NCAA Indoor Championships since 1984.

"They have a great opportunity as well to bring recognition to themselves and the University of Memphis," said Robinson. "I'm just very excited for them and so proud of them. This couldn't have happened to better kids. Whatever happens here this weekend won't take away from any of their accomplishments. They are ready to come out on Saturday and show what they have worked for their entire time at Memphis."

The meet will be streamed live on ESPN360.com throughout the championships, and will be aired tape-delayed on ESPN2 on Monday, March 23 at 1:30 p.m. CT.

Memphis Meet Schedule at NCAA Indoor Championships
3:45 p.m. (CST) Women's Shot Put (First Flight) - Sivan Aballi
5:00 p.m. (CST) Men's Weight Throw (Second Flight) - Steffen Nerdal