May 10, 2006

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis track and field teams will be in El Paso, Texas Thursday-Saturday, May 11-13, for the 2006 C-USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by UTEP at Kidd Field.

Entering the meet, the U of M has a number of athletes hoping to return home with one or more conference medals. Heading the list will be throwers Gail Lee and J.D. Erickson, who are at or near the top of the rankings in multiple events. In addition, a number of athletes including Susan King, Emily Malinowski, Larry Harris and Brandon Winbush have top rankings and aspirations of bringing titles back to Memphis.

Lee, a 2005 Indoor All-American in the shot put, leads the conference in her premier event by nearly five feet with a toss of 54-07.50" (16.65m) from last weekend, while also ranking third in the hammer with a mark of 184-02" (56.13m).

Erickson, the two-time defending C-USA Indoor Shot Put Champion ranks in the top-three in the league in all three of his events. The senior sits second in the shot put with a mark of 58-03.25" (17.76m) and third in both the discus and hammer with marks of 177-04" (54.05m) and 187-09" (57.23m), respectively.

King and Malinowski are the next-highest ranked of the U of M ladies, with each holding second place in one event. King ranks second to Lee in the shot put with a mark of 49-08.50" (15.15m), also sitting fourth in the discus with a mark of 160-08" (48.98m) and sixth in the hammer at 171-03" (52.21m). Malinowski, who has come on strong in her freshman season, is second in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:55.92

Winbush and Harris give the U of M men two more top-two rankings, while the pair should contend in multiple events. Winbush, a 2005 NCAA Championship qualifier in the long jump ranks second in his top event with a mark of 24-02.25" (7.37m), while also ranking eighth in the triple jump with a mark of 45-09.25 (13.96m). Harris, who qualified for regionals in the 400m hurdles in 2004, is the second-ranked 110m hurdler with a time of 14.33, while ranking fourth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.92.

Norbert Gulyas and Sivan Aballi give the U of M two more multiple-event threats in the throws, with Gulyas ranking fourth in the discus with a mark of 172-07" (52.61m) and fifth in the shot put with a mark of 53-00.75" (16.17m).

Aballi gives the Lady Tigers three of the top four spots in the shot put, as she sits fourth in the event with a mark of 48-10.75" (14.90m), while also ranking sixth in the discus with a mark of 156-09 (47.78m).

The Tigers have several additional contenders in the sprints and hurdles, with Willie Green, Amaechi Oselukwue, Sam James and Austin Hunter leading the way.

Green ranks fourth in the 200m with a time of 21.49 and eighth in the 100m with a time of 10.65, while Oselukwue ranks sixth in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles with times of 14.97 and 54.59, respectively.

James ranks sixth in the 400m with a time of 48.35, while Hunter, a three-time scorer and 2005 regional qualifier has been hampered by injuries, but should also be a threat in the 400m.

Additionally, Daemien Jefferson ranks seventh in the 200m with a time of 21.69, and the men's 4x100m relay team of Daniel Bandy, Marcus Thomas, Jefferson and Green rank fourth with a time of 40.51.

Chen Edri, Whitney Bolton, Tyler Frazier and Greg Norrid provide the U of M with four more challengers in the field events.

Edri, the reigning C-USA Freshman of the Year, has had somewhat of an off season thus far, ranking sixth in the high jump with a mark of 5-08.00" (1.73m) and eighth in the javelin with a mark of 137-05" (41.88m), but will look for a repeat performance of last year's championships, where she qualified for regionals each of her two events.

Bolton, has broken both the indoor and outdoor pole vault records in her freshman season, ranking fourth in the league in the event with a mark of 11-05.75" (3.50m).

Frazier ranks fifth in the javelin with a mark of 187-05 (57.12), while Norrid ranks seventh in both the shot and javelin with marks of 47.05.00" (14.45m) and 158-10" (48.42m).

Two more Lady Tigers, Daniele Riendeau and Josetta Brooks rank in the top eight in one event and have strong potential to score this weekend. Riendeau, a two-event scorer at 2006 C-USA Indoors, ranks eighth in the 5000m with a time of 17:14.82, while Brooks a constant contender in the hurdles ranks eighth in the 100m hurdles in her senior season with a time of 14.41s.

The C-USA Outdoor Championships will are slated to get underway at 10 a.m. (CST) Thursday with events running throughout the day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The meet is scheduled to conclude at approximately 10 p.m. (CST) Saturday.

Live results can be followed throughout the competition at http://flashresults.com/flashtexas.