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 SoCon Indoor and Outdoor Freshman of the Year, Dominique Young, will run three events at this weekend's NCAA East Regional. |
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May 21, 2007
Official Men's NCAA East Regional Declaration Lists
Official Women's NCAA East Regional Declaration Lists
NCAA East Regional Schedule of Events
Cullowhee, N.C. - Thirteen student-athletes from Western Carolina's men and women's track & field teams have qualified for the NCAA East Regional, which will be held this weekend, May 25-26, at the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Fla., home of the Florida Gators. For the back-to-back Southern Conference outdoor champion Catamount men, seven individuals have qualified for the regional meet, while the women have six athletes making the trek.
Complete heat sheets for the regional will be made available on Wednesday, May 23.
"We have set a couple of goals both as a team and individuals entering this weekend's NCAA East Regional," said Western head coach, Danny Williamson. "One of those goals is that at the end of the meet, we want to be ranked higher than when we entered the competition, which shows improvement and helps build confidence. Secondly, we are aiming to advance to each event finals which would give us a chance to qualify for the national championship in California."
He added, "We feel like we have a good opportunity for more than one student-athlete to advance to the national competition if the cards fall right. So, in a way, we have another goal of seeing how many athletes we can have make the trip to nationals."
In the individual competitions, the top five finishers automatically advance to the NCAA National Championship, which will be held in Sacramento, Calif., on June 6-9. Finishing within the top 12, though, allows for the possibility of garnering an at-large invitation to the national meet. In the relay events, just the top three teams automatically advance.
One of the first to qualify based on time for WCU this season, sophomore sprinter Manteo Mitchell had a chance to run in four different events at the regional, qualifying in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, as well as both the 4x100- and 4x400-meter hurdles. The Mooresboro, N.C., native will compete in just three, though, dropping the shortest dash to concentrate on both helping the team in the relays as well as an individual in the 400.
Mitchell initially qualified for the 400-meter dash with his season-best, school-record time of 46.23 at the home Western Carolina Invitational back on March 31. He also claimed the SoCon individual event title in Boone back in late April. Mitchell enters this weekend ranked eighth overall in the East.
Additional individual qualifiers for the Catamount men include senior Mike Malone in the 400-meter hurdles and SoCon men's indoor and outdoor Freshman of the Year, Dominique Young, in both the 100- and 200-meter dash. Malone, who was All-SoCon in the 110-meter hurdles, long jump and 400-meter relay, finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdle event at the conference championship. He qualified for the NCAA meet by placing ninth overall with a time of 51.95 at the Georgia Tech Invitational on May 11-12.
By winning the 100-meter dash and posting a qualifying time in the 200-meter at the conference championship, Young will pull triple duty at the regional event by competing in both, as well as the 4x100-meter relay. The frosh will be joined by Mitchell, sophomore Kevin Johnson and junior Zeb Johnson. WCU ranks ninth in the region in the 400-meter relay event, passing the baton in 40.27 at the Georgia Tech Invitational. (May 12).
Perhaps Western's best opportunity to advance will come with the men's 4x400-meter relay team, which enters the weekend with the squad's highest regional ranking at fifth overall. Mitchell, Malone and Zeb Johnson will be joined by senior James Gregory as they try to improve upon their time of 3:08.34 run at the Georgia Tech Invitational (May 12).
The lone field event competitor on either side is high jumper, Matt Evans. The Old Fort, N.C., native earned the right to compete at the regional level by claiming the individual championship at the SoCon Championship, clearing 2.05 meters (6-8.75). WCU assistant coach Brandy Venable commented that Evans, who currently ranks 18th overall in the East, has been hitting his personal records during the practices heading into this weekend's regional.
Senior Asia Davis will try to qualify for the NCAA National Championship for her second-consecutive season at this weekend's NCAA East Regional. |
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For the Catamount women, senior Asia Davis headlines six competitors who will try their hand at advancing to the NCAA National Championship in Sacramento, Calif. Davis did just that a year ago in the 400-meter hurdles, an event in which she again won at the conference meet and will run at this year's regional, entering the weekend ranked 12th in the region.
"Having advanced to Sacramento a year ago, Asia (Davis) understands what it takes to compete at the national level and has been relaying that information on to all of our athletes as they prepare for the regional," Williamson said. "She has been emphasizing to her teammates that just because it may say first or preliminary round does not mean that it is any easier; that you have to perform at your best from the very beginning or you may not get another opportunity."
Davis helped her teammates qualify for the 4x100-meter relay, but nursing a tender hamstring and wanting to concentrate solely on the hurdles, will give way to junior Melissa Berry for a leg on the relay squad. Berry will be joined by juniors Raquel Ramseur and Tangelia Johnson, as well as freshman Sherelle Froneberger on a squad which ranks 17th in the region.
Individually, Ramseur and classmate Kerrie Savery will also try to advance to nationals at the regional meet. As the SoCon 400-meter dash champion, Ramseur additionally posted a qualifying time at the Duke Twilight with a then-seasonal best time of 54.29 before running a 53.97 at the Georgia Tech Invitational to improve her overall ranking to 17th. Savery also used the meet in Atlanta to improve her seeding for the 800-meter run. Also a SoCon champion in the event, the Palm Harbor, Fla., native ran a season-best time of 2:10.27 two weeks ago in the final tune-up event prior to the regional.
Complete results from the regional can be obtained by visiting CatamountSports.com following each day of competition, or by visiting www.TrackShark.com for complete regional coverage.
Western Carolina Declared Student-Athletes (Regional Rank): Asia Davis - 400-meter hurdles (12th), 4x100-meter relay (17th) Melissa Berry - 4x100-meter relay (17th) Sherelle Froneberger - 4x100-meter relay (17th) Tangelia Johnson - 4x100-meter relay (17th) Raquel Ramseur - 400-meter dash, 4x100-meter relay (17th) Kerrie Savery - 800-meter run (22nd)Matt Evans - High Jump (18th) James Gregory - 4x400-meter relay (5th) Kevin Johnson - 4x100-meter relay (9th) Zeb Johnson - 4x100-meter relay (9th), 4x400-meter relay (5th) Mike Malone - 400-meter hurdles (26th), 4x400-meter relay (5th) Manteo Mitchell - 400-meter dash (8th), 4x400-meter relay (5th) Dominique Young - 100-meter dash (25th), 200-meter dash (25th) 4x100-meter relay (9th)
East Region Track and Field Championships - May 25-26, 2007 Schedule of Events for WCU Athletes
Friday 3:00 - 4x100-meter relay (M) Prelims 3:15 - 4x100-meter relay (W) Prelims 4:50 - 100-meter (M) Prelims 5:30 - 400-meter (M) Prelims 5:50 - 400-meter (W) Prelims 6:30 - 800-meter (W) Prelims 6:50 - 400-meter Hurdles (M) Prelims 7:10 - 400-meter Hurdles (W) Prelims 7:30 - 200-meter (M) Prelims 7:50 - 200-meter (W) Prelims
Saturday 1:00 - High Jump (M) Final 5:30 - 4x100-meter relay (M) Finals 5:40 - 4x100-meter relay (W) Finals 6:35 - 100-meter (M) Finals 6:40 - 100-meter (W) Finals 6:45 - 400-meter (M) Finals 6:50 - 400-meter (W) Finals 7:00 - 800-meter (W) Finals 7:10 - 400-meter Hurdles (M) Finals 7:20 - 400-meter Hurdles (W) Finals 7:30 - 200-meter (M) Finals 7:35 - 200-meter (W) Finals 8:35 - 4x400-meter (M) Finals 8:50 - 4x400-meter (W) Finals
