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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 10, 2007) - After claiming the 2007 Atlantic Sun Indoor Track and Field Championship, the ETSU men's track and field team will look to make it a clean sweep this weekend as they look to earn its first-ever outdoor title and keep the hardware in Johnson City. The meet begins Friday with the men's decathlon kicking things off at 8 a.m. at the Liberty Bell Track Facility.
On the men's side, ETSU will battle with Gardner-Webb and Belmont for the team title. The women's track and field team will shoot for a top-six finish this weekend and look to get a strong push from its sprinters, throwers and high jumpers.
"There is a good chance for the men to contend for the title, but they are going to have provide their best performances of the season in order to do so," said associate head coach Michelle Byrne. "Hopefully by having the meet on our home turf it will give us a slight advantage, but there are a lot of strong teams and competitors out there, which makes this a solid championship meet."
The Bucs will look to speedsters James Rainer (
In the 400-meter event, freshman Chris Harrison (
"We expect our sprinters to make an impact at the meet, however, they will get some strong competition from Campbell and Belmont," added Byrne. "Our guys have run well this season, and if the men want to win the team title, they will need to pick up a lot of points in these events."
Head coach David Walker will turn to Jeff Crane (
The 4x100 relay team of Rainer, Tucker, Carey and Harrison will look to keep the gold in
Nate Strickland (
Carrying the load in a lot of multiple events will be junior Mike Wright (
"We hope Wright will be able to give us a huge lift in the individual events, instead of wearing him out in the decathlon," added Byrne. "If the men are going to win the team title, Wright will need to string together solid performances in his respective events."
Representing the Bucs in the decathlon will be Nic Chernikow (
Local hero Drew Beamer (
The group of athletes looking to make the biggest impact for the Bucs this weekend will come from coach Meg Stone's throwers. Freshman Jarrod Burton (Bastian,
"The throwers are a very tight group and hopefully they can put points on the board early and build off each others momentum," said Byrne.
Women's Preview
Despite key injuries to Octavia Burgess (
"Knox and Bailey have run well all season and I am excited to see them compete," added Byrne. "They have worked hard all spring and I hope to see it pay off on the track this weekend."
The freshman contingent of Christin Zink (
The Bucs will hope to get a lift from sophomore Heather Adkins (
Senior Anna Marie Ricciardi (Canfield,
The lone long and triple jumper for the Bucs is Tashauna Robinson (
Like the men, the ETSU women throwers have put together a stellar season and look to make some noise at the outdoor championships this weekend. A pair of