March 24, 2005

Memphis, Tenn. - The University of Memphis track and field teams will head south to the Louisiana bayou Friday-Saturday, March 25-26, as they travel to the LSU Tiger Relays, hosted by Louisiana State University in Baton Rogue, La. The Tiger Relays will be a tough early season test for the U of M athletes as they will square off against athletes from top squads from around the country.

Entering the meet, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will each be without one of their top competitors, as throwers J.D. Erickson and Gail Lee have chosen to redshirt the outdoor season. Erickson and Lee will compete in select meets as "unattached" entrants, but will not travel with the team to those meets and will not contribute to team scores.

While the U of M women lose one top competitor, they get another back for the outdoor season.

Senior triple jumper Lisa-Marie Hyman is expected to return this weekend for her final season of competition after sitting out last Saturday's Rhodes Open due to a slight shin injury. The three-time Conference USA triple jump champion - 2 outdoor, 1 indoor - will begin her quest for a fourth title, which she narrowly missed when she finished second at the 2004 C-USA indoor meet.

Several Memphis athletes, including Tigers Willie Green and Brandon Winbush and Lady Tigers Chen Edri and Sheena Ohlig will have great tests at the Tiger Relays, coming off strong performances at Rhodes.

Green claimed the 100m last weekend in a personal best time of 10.72, also winning the 200m in 21.91. Winbush took the long jump title with a leap of 23-07.50" (7.20m), a personal best of his own.

Edri registered two wins for the Lady Tigers, as she claimed the high jump and javelin, with marks of 5-06.00" (1.68m) and 131-03.50" (40.02m), respectively. Ohlig recorded a victory in her specialty event, the 100m hurdles, with a time of 14.57.

This weekend's meet will provide a great measuring stick for all of the Memphis athletes and will let them know where they stand and where they need to be.

Several U of M athletes will begin competition Friday night when the decathlon, heptathlon, men's hammer, sprint medley relays, distance medley relays and 100m, 100m hurdle and 110m hurdle prelims will be contested. The remainder of the squads will spring into action Saturday, with field events beginning at 11 a.m. and running events beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Results for the LSU Tiger Relays will posted at gotigersgo.com following the completion of the meet.