May 23, 2006
Charleston, S.C. - Eleven Western Carolina track & field student-athletes will attempt to continue the successful spring this weekend at the NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., hosted by North Carolina A&T at the Irwin Belk Track. Action for the Catamounts is set to begin with preliminary rounds on the track on Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm with the top eight from each event - and top 12 in the 1,500-meter run - advancing to Saturday's final rounds.
Western will send seven men and four women to the regional, all competing in track events ranging from the 100-meter dash to the 110-meter hurdles and the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays. (see listing below for event breakdown).
"We are looking forward to this competition. Our athletes have focused work and efforts towards this meet and there will be several situations where we will be right in the thick of the competition for the NCAA automatic berths," said Western Carolina head coach, Danny Williamson. "It will be great as far as having the NCAA East regional in the state of North Carolina. Families, friends and relatives of our athletes will get the opportunity to see our kids compete at this high level."
Sophomore Zeb Johnson qualified for the regional event at both the 100- and 200-meter events, winning both at the SoCon Championships. However, he will only compete in the longer of the two and will be joined by freshman teammate, Manteo Mitchell. Johnson turned in a school-record time of 20.88 to eclipse the regional qualifying time at the Western Invitational in early April with Mitchell also surpassing the minimum in the same race. Johnson enters the weekend ranked fifth in the region while Mitchell, who was the SoCon 400-meter champion, is 14th.
Senior Milton Bolton also holds a regional ranking of 14 in the 400-meter dash. The first Catamount to qualify and a two-time SoCon track athlete of the week this season, Bolton ran 46.94 at the Clemson Invitational back on April 8.
The three aforementioned will be joined by sophomore Mike Malone, the SoCon 400-meter hurdle champion, in the 4x100-meter relay and by freshman Kevin Johnson in the 4x400-meter relay event. Western set school records in both events this season, turning a quick lap of 40.23 in the 400-meter relay and passing the baton in 3:08.34, both at the Georgia Tech Invitational two weeks ago. The Catamounts rank eighth in the region in the 4x100-event, while ranking fifth in the East in the 4x400-meter relay.
Senior Lawrence Briscoe, who like Bolton was a two-time SoCon athlete of the week, will represented the purple and gold in the 110-meter hurdles. This season, Briscoe won at the 110-meter distance twice and once in the 400-meter hurdles. He ran regional qualifying marks three times during the season, including a seasonal-best 14.22 at the Georgia Tech Invitational
Rounding out the WCU men that will be competing at the East regional is senior Adam Puett in the 1,500-meter run. Last season, Puett went to the regional meet ranked 27th, but ran 3:50.27 to leave the meet ranked 14th. This year, Puett, who won the SoCon 1,500-meter event for the third-consecutive season en route to garnering Track Performer of the Year honors, enters the meet ranked 23rd with a time of 3:49.33 also run at Georgia Tech.
Four Western women will compete this weekend, led by hurdler Asia Davis. The junior from Charlotte was the first Catamount female to eclipse the NCAA minimum, a feat she accomplished four times this season in addition to winning the SoCon championship to qualify for the regional. Davis ran her seasonal best time of 59.53 during the preliminary rounds at the conference championship before garnering the event title the following day.
Sophomore sprinter Tangelia Johnson qualified for the regional in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, establishing school records in both. This weekend, though, she will focus solely on the shorter of the two events, running the 100-meter dash in which she ranks 16th in the East region with a time of 11.63. Her classmate, Raquel Ramseur, qualified by winning the SoCon championship in the 400-meter dash with a season-best time of 54.15, which ranks 15th in the region.
The three will be joined by freshman Aneesha Lane in running the 4x400-meter relay after capturing the conference championship to qualify for the regional. Johnson, Ramseur, Davis, and Lane passed the baton in a conference-record time of 3:43.15, which is the 17th-best time in the region.
"We have several goals as far as the regional competition, including having our student-athletes finish with a higher ranking, and ideally in the top 12 to become eligible for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. We would like to have as many of our athletes make the finals of their events, and possibly finish in the top five as individuals or top three in relays to earn automatic bids to the championships. Finally, we would like to set school and Southern Conference records.
Williamson concluded, "I feel that our kids have done an excellent job of preparing themselves both physically and mentally for this challenge, and are very excited to be at the NCAA East Regional - not for the purpose of just being there because they realize that they have a chance to take the talents and abilities on to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This group had accomplished a lot this season, and looks forward to finishing up in the next few weeks on a very high note."
Western Carolina Athletes in the NCAA East Regional:Name (Class) Event East Rank Time Milton Bolton (Sr.) 400m Dash 14th 46.94 Lawrence Briscoe (Sr.) 110m Hurdles 20th 14.22 Zeb Johnson (So.) 200m Dash 5th 20.88 Manteo Mitchell (Fr.) 200m Dash 14th 21.11 Adam Puett (Sr.) 1500m Run 23rd 3:49.33 Zeb Johnson, Mike Malone 4x100m Relay 8th 40.23 Milton Bolton, Kevin Johnson Milton Bolton, Manteo Mitchell 4x400m Relay 5th 3:08.34 Mike Malone, Zeb Johnson
Asia Davis (Jr.) 400m Hurdles 12th 59.53 Tangelia Johnson (So.) 100m Dash 16th 11.63 Raquel Ramseur (So.) 400m Dash 15th 54.15 Aneesha Lane, Raquel Ramseur 4x400m Relay 17th 3:43.15 Asia Davis, Tangelia Johnson
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