Wednesday, May 26, 2010

GREENSBORO , N.C. (May 26, 2010) - Senior Duronal Monal (Belle Glade, Fla.) and junior Mike James (Palm Bay, Fla.) begin their quest for an NCAA Track & Field Championship Thursday evening when the Buccaneer tandem compete in the East Regional, hosted by North Carolina A&T at the Irwin Belk Track Complex.

The three-day meet kicks off Thursday and concludes Saturday with athletes and teams looking to advance to the NCAA Championships - which will be contested June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore.

Monal qualified for both the 100m and 200m events this weekend. The reigning Atlantic Sun Most Outstanding Track Performer has his strongest chance of advancing out of the regional in the 100m, as Monal's time of 10.26 - set at the Tennessee Invitational back on May 8 - is the 11th fastest mark among the field of 48 competitors. In addition, the Belle Glade, Fla. native ranks 32nd in the 200m (20.95).

Monal will be the first Buccaneer athlete to hit the track in Greensboro, as the First Round of the 100m is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Six heats will be raced (eight runners in each) and the top three times of each heat, along with the six next fastest marks qualify for Friday's Quarterfinal at 6 p.m. Monal is also guaranteed a race Friday as he will compete in the First Round of the 200m at 7:30 p.m. Should the two-time 200m conference champion qualify for the quarterfinal, Monal will race at 7:35 p.m. Saturday.

Meanwhile, James begins his championship run Friday when the First Round of the 110m hurdles gets underway at 4:30 p.m. James, who is making his second consecutive trip to the regional meet, ranks 27th in the field of 48. The Palm Bay, Fla. native set his qualifying time at the A-Sun Championships after clocking in at 14.08 in the prelims.

To access NCAA East Regional headquarters, visit www.NCAA.com or click on the link above.

For complete coverage of Monal and James, stay tuned to ETSUBucs.com.