May 25, 2006

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis track and field teams will be well represented at the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday at the University of Tennessee's Tom Black Track, as the Tigers and Lady Tigers will send a total of 11 athletes to compete in Knoxville.

Heading the list of competitors will be throwers Gail Lee and J.D. Erickson, who are each expected to contend in multiple events, while, on the men's side, five of the seven competitors, including Erickson, are native Memphians.

Lee enters the meet ranked fourth in the region and 12th nationally with a mark of 54-07.50" in the shot put, while also ranking 16th in the hammer with a toss of 184-02". The 2005 Indoor All-American in the shot will look for a top-five showing on Friday in hopes of earning a trip to NCAA Championships in two weeks.

Erickson, a graduate of Christian Brothers High School who is set to compete in three events over the two-days, ranks 10th in the shot put with a mark of 58-03.25", 14th in the discus with a mark of 177-04" and 26th in the hammer with a mark of 187-09".

Other athletes from the Memphis area are Brandon Winbush, who will compete in the long jump, and Daniel Bandy, Marcus Thomas and Daemien Jefferson, who are all members of the 4x100m relay team.

Winbush, a graduate of Bartlett High, enters the meet ranked 29th in the long jump with a mark of 24-02.25", but will look for a better result on Friday after qualifying for NCAA Championships in his top event at last year's Regional meet.

Bandy, from West Memphis High, Thomas, from CBHS, and Jefferson, from Craigmont High, will join Willie Green on the Tiger 4x100m relay team, which ranks 15th in the region with a time of 40.38.

Green will also take part in the meet as an individual, competing in the 100m, in which he ranks 15th with a time of 10.20.

Other U of M athletes making the trip up I-40 will be Lady Tigers Susan King, Sivan Aballi and Chen Edri, along with Tiger Norbert Gulyas.

King and Aballi will each take part in both the discus and shot put, with King ranking 13th in the discus (160-08") and 14th in the shot (49-08.50"), while Aballi ranks 16th in the discus (156-09") and 19th in the shot (48-10.75").

Edri will take part in the javelin, where she ranks 21st with a throw of 143-06", while Gulyas will take part in the discus, where he ranks 22nd with a mark of 172-07".

The NCAA Mideast Regionals are set to get underway at 11 a.m. EST on Friday with field events, to be followed by track events at 4 p.m. The meet will follow much the same schedule on Saturday, with field events beginning at 11 a.m. and track events commencing at 5 p.m.

Live results can be followed throughout the competition at utsports.cstv.com.