Dec. 3, 2005

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JONESBORO, Ark. - Memphis junior Susan King got her Lady Tiger career off on the right foot Saturday at the Early Bird Invitational, as the thrower claimed both a victory and a third-place tally in her first meet at the U of M.

Fellow thrower J.D. Erickson also added two top-three finishes and was another of several Memphis athletes to put up promising performances in the first indoor meet of the 2005-06 season.

King recorded her top showing in the shot put where her throw of 46-03.50" (14.11m) placed her first, just in front of fellow Lady Tiger Gail Lee, who was competing as "unattached" in the meet. The League City, Texas, native then registered a toss of 52-08.00" (16.05m) in the weight throw to finish third, this time just behind Lee. Each of King's marks also set new personal records.

"Susan is a great competitor and a very special athlete," said Coach Kevin Robinson. "She had two great performances today, and I expect to see even better results from her as the season progresses."

Lee, who will red-shirt for the indoor season, finished second in both throwing events, recording marks of 45-10.75" (13.99m) in the shot and 56-02.50" (17.13m) in the weight.

For the men, Erickson was the top performer, as he claimed second place in the weight and third place in the shot with marks of 60-04.00" (18.39m) and 52-09.50" (16.09m), respectively.

Five other Tigers picked up top-four finishes on the day. Junior Abraham Shaposhnik led the way, finishing second in the 800m with a time 1:59.22, while freshman Juan Arobleda was third in the 800 with a time of 2:01.06.

Senior Austin Hunter placed third in the 400m with a time of 48.91. Junior Daniel Bandy and sophomore Amaechi Oselukwue picked up a pair of fourth-place tallies, with Bandy finishing fourth in the 55m with a personal best time of 6.44s and Oselukwue finishing fourth in the 55m hurdles with a time of 8.14s.

Elsewhere on the women's side, three additional field athletes put up solid. The top performance came from sophomore Sivan Aballi, who finished fourth in the shot put with a personal-record throw of 44-05.50" (13.55m). Fellow sophomore Chen Edri placed fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 5-04.00" (1.62m), while Annette Uzoh, another sophomore, was fifth in the weight throw with a personal-record toss of 51-08.25" (15.75m).

"This meet was a good place to start," Robinson said. "We had some promising performances and got back in a competition setting. We still have a long way to go, but I think we have a lot to look forward to."

The U of M track and field teams will now have approximately a month and a half off with school out for Christmas. The indoor portion of the schedule is set to resume on January 21, 2006, when the teams travel to the Booster Invitational, hosted by Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.