May 12, 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis track and field team is set to compete at the 2010 Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Orlando, Fla., this weekend. The four-day meet is slated to run Thursday-Sunday, May 13-16, at the UCF Track and Soccer Complex.

The 2010 C-USA Championship meet will begin on Thursday with the women’s heptathlon at 2:00 p.m. and the men’s decathlon at 2:30 p.m. The multi-event athletes will wrap up competition in their respective events on Friday, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Friday's running events start at 6:00 p.m. with the men's 1,500m and wraps up with the women's 3,000m steeplechase at 9:35 p.m. The majority of Friday's events are preliminary races, building up to Saturday's championship action starting at 6 p.m. with the 4x100m relays.

Field events begin Friday at 10:00 a.m. with the men’s hammer throw followed by the women’s hammer throw at 11:30 a.m. The men’s javelin throw at 1:00 p.m. is the first of seven field events on Saturday with the men’s shot put at 6:30 p.m. being the last field of the day. Seven more field events will take place Sunday afternoon starting with the women’s javelin throw at 1:00 p.m. and concluding with the women’s shot put at 6:30 p.m.

The Tigers haven’t seen a full competition since hosting the Memphis Tiger Invitational on April 17. Due to inclement weather in Oxford, Miss., the Mississippi Open was cancelled after five events. Head Coach Kevin Robinson used the extra time to train the track and field athletes hard as well as put the team through time trials over the unexpected break.

“We are not in an ideal situation,” Robinson said. “We needed that meet at Ole Miss on May 1. We were primed for a break-out competition and to not be able to get those numbers on paper is tough. It’s a confidence issue with this group even though they know they can do it. We have had some time trials in training and that allowed some competition among the team during this break.”

Memphis will look to continue its dominance in the throwing events. Entering the weekend, the Tigers have Knut Syversen ranked second in the shot put, followed by Seth Major, who enters the championships seeded third. In the men’s discus throw, Major is seeded first followed by Steffen Nerdal in second and Syversen in third. Freshman Andrew Miller joins the veteran group, seeded ninth entering his first C-USA Outdoor Championships. Nerdal is seeded first in the hammer throw with Syversen seeded fifth and Harding Zills eighth.

“I hope and expect we continue our dominance in the throwing events,” Robinson said. “I look for the hammer, discus and shot put to put up a lot of points toward the team total. We are led by three seniors that are irreplaceable and I expect them to have that experience to not let the conference jitters get to them.”

On the track, Frashod Barlow is seeded eighth in both the 100m and 200m dash. Brieuc Vandeleene is seeded seventh in the 800m run, fifth in the 1,500m run and  will also compete in the 5,000m run for the first time this season. Richard Lowe is seeded first in the 400m hurdles after setting the school record at the Memphis Tiger Invitational. In the jumps, Karlis Pujats is seeded third in the pole vault. Jerome Leslie enters the C-USA Championships seeded seventh in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump.

“I have a lot of confidence in our hurdle group,” Robinson said. “Richard Lowe, Robert Jackson, Alex Sweet and Darius Anderson are the guys I expect a lot of this weekend. I expect Robert to bring home the 110m hurdle championship and I expect Richard to bring home the 400m hurdle championship. I am excited to see these guys go to war. Frashod (Barlow) has put himself in position to contend in the 100 and 200m dash. (Frashod) has increased his practice intensity and I expect him to get into the finals and score some points. On the track, we are a better team than we have been since we won the championship in 2007.”

LaShundra Kershaw leads the Lady Tigers into the C-USA Championships with a four seed in the 100m dash and a three seed in the 200m dash. Keyona Neal is seeded sixth in the 400m dash and is looking for her first All-C-USA performance. Holland Thomas enters with a three seed in both the 100m and 400m hurdles.

“LaShundra Kershaw looks phenomenal right now and she is running some very fast times and is healthy for the first time in her career,” Robinson said. “I expect LaShundra to do something really special this weekend. Keyona Neal is another one I expect to do really well. Kayleigh Brown is right on the bubble in the 800m run and I think she can mix it up and make the final. This is a very young women’s team and I hope we can learn a lot this year to take in to next season.”

All session championship tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for youth, while single session tickets are $12 and $6. C-USA students and staff with a valid I.D. are admitted free.

Live results of the 2010 C-USA Track and Field Championships can be viewed at C-USA Championship Central on the official website of C-USA.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

1:00 p.m. National Anthem

Multi-Events

2:00 p.m. Women’s Heptathlon

2:30 p.m. Men’s Decathlon

 

Friday, May 14, 2010

9:00 a.m. National Anthem

Field Events

10:00 a.m. Hammer (Final - Men)

11:30 a.m. Hammer (Final - Women)

Multi-Events

1:30 p.m. Men’s Decathlon Continues

2:00 p.m. Women’s Heptathlon Continues

Track Events

7:50 p.m. 10,000m (Final - Men)

8:30 p.m. 10,000m (Final - Women)

 

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Noon National Anthem

Field Events

1:00 p.m. Javelin (Final - Men)

3:30 p.m. Discus (Final - Women)

3:30 p.m. Long Jump (Final - Men)

5:30 p.m. Long Jump (Final - Women)

6:00 p.m. Pole Vault (Final - Women)

6:00 p.m. High Jump (Final - Men)

6:30 p.m. Shot Put (Final - Men)

Track Events

6:00 p.m. 1500m (Prelim - Men)

6:15 p.m. 1500m (Prelim - Women)

6:30 p.m. 110m Hurdles (Prelim - Men)

6:45 p.m. 100m Hurdles (Prelim - Women)

7:00 p.m. 400m (Prelim - Men)

7:15 p.m. 400m (Prelim - Women)

7:25 p.m. 100m (Prelim - Men)

7:40 p.m. 100m (Prelim - Women)

7:55 p.m. 800m (Prelim - Men)

8:05 p.m. 800m (Prelim - Women)

8:20 p.m. 400m Hurdles (Prelim - Men)

8:35 p.m. 400m Hurdles (Prelim - Women)

8:50 p.m. 200m (Prelim - Men)

9:00 p.m. 200m (Prelim - Women)

9:15 p.m. 3,000m Steeple (Final - Men)

9:35 p.m. 3,000m Steeple (Final - Women)

 

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Noon National Anthem

Field Events

1:00 p.m. Javelin (Final - Women)

3:00 p.m. Triple Jump (Final - Women)

3:30 p.m. Discus (Final - Men)

6:00 p.m. High Jump (Final - Women)

6:00 p.m. Pole Vault (Final - Men)

6:30 p.m. Triple Jump (Final - Men)

6:30 p.m. Shot Put (Final - Women)

Track Events

6:00 p.m. 4x100m Relay (Final - Men)

6:05 p.m. 4x100m Relay (Final -Women)

6:15 p.m. 1500m (Final - Men)

6:25 p.m. 1500m (Final - Women)

6:35 p.m. 110 Hurdles (Final - Men)

6:45 p.m. 100 Hurdles (Final - Women)

6:55 p.m. 400m (Final - Men)

7:00 p.m. 400m (Final - Women)

7:10 p.m. 100m (Final - Men)

7:15 p.m. 100m (Final - Women)

7:25 p.m. 800m (Final - Men)

7:30 p.m. 800m (Final - Women)

7:40 p.m. 400m Hurdles (Final - Men)

7:50 p.m. 400m Hurdles (Final - Women)

8:00 p.m. 200m (Final - Men)

8:05 p.m. 200m (Final - Women)

8:15 p.m. 5,000m (Final - Men)

8:40 p.m. 5,000m (Final - Women)

9:10 p.m. 4x400m Relay (Final - Men)

9:15 p.m. 4x400m Relay (Final - Women)

9:30 p.m. Presentation of Awards

 

2010 OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP

THROWS & JUMPS BREAKDOWN

(All times listed are Eastern)

Throws

Day 2

10:00 a.m. Hammer (Final - Men)

11:30 a.m. Hammer (Final - Women)

Day 3

1:00 p.m. Javelin (Final - Men)

3:30 p.m. Discus (Final - Women)

6:30 p.m. Shot Put (Final - Men)

Day 4

1:00 p.m. Javelin (Final - Women)

3:30 p.m. Discus (Final - Men)

6:30 p.m. Shot Put (Final - Women)

Jumps

Day 3

3:30 p.m. Long Jump (Final - Men)

5:30 p.m. Long Jump (Final-Women)

6:00 p.m. Pole Vault (Final - Women)

6:00 p.m. High Jump (Final - Men)

Day 4

3:00 p.m. Triple Jump (Final - Women)

6:00 p.m. Pole Vault (Final - Men)

6:00 p.m. High Jump (Final - Women)

6:30 p.m. Triple Jump (Final – Men)