April 22, 2004

PHILADELPHIA-Senior Tiger distance runner Mate Nemeth placed third in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Penn Relays Thursday night as he represented the University of Memphis on one of track & field's grandest stages. Nemeth ran an 8:50.95 in the event, 14 seconds better than his 2004 personal best time of 9:04.13 that he ran at the Sea Ray Relays on April 10.

N.C. State's Andy Smith won the race with a time of 8:43.20 and Ohio State's Brian Olinger narrowly edged Nemeth for second place with a time of 8:50.02. Nemeth's time is the best turned in by any runner in the event in C-USA this year, a full 23 seconds better than the next best time in the conference. His time ranks second in the Mid-Eastern Region and 11th in the nation in 2004 as of April 22.

Nemeth won the 3000m Steeplechase at the 2003 Penn Relays and the 2003 C-USA Outdoor Championships. He went on to compete at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the event where he placed 12th. Nemeth, a native of Szekszard, Hungary, is qualified for the 2004 NCAA Mid-Eastern Regional in the steeplechase and hopes to advance to the NCAA Championships again in 2004.

Several other Memphis Tigers will compete at the Penn Relays on Friday and Saturday. The 110-year old meet is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field. The 2004 meet has 22,000 competitors and is expected to draw over 100,000 spectators.

3000m Steeplechase Finals (College Men)

1 8:43.20 Andy Smith North Carolina State
2 8:50.02 Brian Olinger Ohio State
3 8:50.95 Mate Nemeth Memphis
4 8:52.81 Steve Zieminski Florida
5 8:53.16 Kurt Michaelis Youngstown State
6 8:54.80 Terah Kipchivis Coastal Carolina
7 8:55.27 Lucas Meyer Yale
8 8:59.15 Jessee Rappole North Carolina
9 9:00.72 Emory Mort Cornell
10 9:01.60 Tim Kelly Tennessee
11 9:02.32 Nolan Taylor Minot State
12 9:06.75 Travis McKay Mississippi State
13 9:06.77 Alfred Korir Fairleigh Dickinson
14 9:17.42 Aaron Smead Army
15 9:19.32 Matt Sweetman Indiana
16 9:21.01 Ryan Maynard Columbia
17 9:23.38 Carlos Arrizon Louisiana Tech
18 9:34.18 Billy Buckenmeyer Lock Haven
DNF = Adam Perkins Arkansas; Denis Storojev North Florida