Men?s Track Set for NCAA Regional Competition
5/25/2006 12:00:00 AM
Coming off of their best performance at the SEC Championships in four years, the Alabama men's track and field team is heading to Knoxville, Tenn. this weekend to compete at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships.
Alabama head coach Harvey Glance is looking for his squad to keep building on their momentum.
"I hope we can keep the momentum rolling," Glance said. "We are running well at the right time. It is gratifying to know that we are posting our best times of the year in the meets that matter the most at the end of the year."
The Crimson Tide will be represented by eight athletes at the event with Chauncey Harris and Augustus Maiyo leading the way.
Harris captured the SEC crown in the 100m dash with a personal best 10.14, the third fastest time in the region this year. Maiyo was victorious in the 3,000m steeplechase in Fayetteville, running a personal best in the event.
Harris will also compete in the 200m dash and will be joined in the event by Michael Cooley. The duo will also combine with hurdlers Marcus Siwemuke and Byron Gibson to compete in the 4x100m relay.
In addition to Maiyo, Alabama will have two other distance runners competing. Abraham Kutingala will compete along side Maiyo in the steeplechase. Kutingala finished third in the event at the SEC Championships. Titus Koeh will run in the 800m. Koeh posted a season best in the event at SECs.
Jason Dixon and Steven Boozer will compete for the Tide in the discus. Boozer earned All-America in the event last year.
Glance is expecting the competition to be tough but also feels that his team will be successful and advance to the national championships.
"Anytime you have Arkansas, LSU, Tennessee and Auburn to compete against, you are going to have a tough go of it, not to mention the northern schools we will be competing against. It's certainly a loaded region. The task won't be easy, but we feel confident that we will go in, compete well and get representation at the NCAA championships."
The NCAA regionals were created in 2003 as a way to determine who would compete at the NCAA championships. The top five finishers in the individual events and the top three finishers in the relays in each of the four regional competitions automatically advance to the NCAA championships. The NCAA meet will be held June 7-10 on the campus of Sacramento State University in Walnut, Calif.
Fans who aren't traveling to the event can watch the action live online at the NCAA Mideast Regional website, http://68.156.229.10/~other/track/06ncaa-mer/ , where free live streaming video will be available.
