01/20/06–
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE JAGUAR TRACK AND FIELD TEAMS PREPARE TO
OPEN THE INDOOR SEASON AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE ON SATURDAY
Contact:
Dwayne Gatlin
Four
Jaguars Named to the All-Time Sun Belt Conference Men's Indoor Track
Team
Three
Lady Jags Named to the All-Time Sun Belt Conference Women's Indoor
Track Team
With an impressive
cross country season in the books, the Jaguars hope few questions
will remain about how many more building blocks need to be added
to the foundation of this successful program. Can the South Alabama
men repeat their indoor feat? Who will step up for the sprinters?
What can the Lady Jags do now that they are healthy and more experienced?
Who will pick up the stick in the distance events?
Men’s
Team
Losses:
Phillip Lagat and Samson Kipchichir were
All-Conference distance runners during their careers at South Alabama
and both scored on last year’s championship team. Kipchichir
will be missed even more in the outdoor season as he was the Jags’
only steeplechase runner. Brandon Oliver will also
be missed outdoors as he was the team’s only scoring decathlete.
He also added depth to the pole vault unit.
Sprints:
LaRonious Reddix finished second in the 400m dash
at both conference meets. He broke USA’s outdoor record in
the event (46.48) and was ranked 40th in the nation by Track and
Field News. Reddix was the only sprinter to score in the 200m at
both SBC championships, an event he only runs in the season finales.
If no one steps up, it will be up to the senior to double up again.
Anthony
Murphy went back to his high school days as a distance
runner to help the Jags during the cross country season. The Cleveland
Public Schools cross country champion broke the Jaguar indoor 400m
record (47.77) last year and led off the SBC conference record-breaking
4x400m relay outdoors. His fall season base makes him dangerous
and versatile, as he looks to compete in the 800m as well.
Marcus
Burden and Kwesi Byrd were injured in
2005. The seniors spent the summer rehabbing and training together
and look to be back in the form they had as freshmen and sophomores
when they were threats at 55m, 60m, 100m, and 200m. Burden has extra
motivation as his home of Slidell, La. was devestated by Hurricane
Katrina.
There are several
newcomers who look to make an impact as sprinters for the men’s
squad. Ahmed Awesu was world ranked in 2005 at
50m. The Nigerian will add more firepower to the sprint crew and
give the Jags a formidable leg on the lightly regarded 4x100m relay.
Tim
Johnson will have plenty of experienced veterans to learn
from in his freshman year. The Mobile native will add much-needed
depth and challenge any upper classmen who do not take him seriously.
Others to sprinters
to watch are transfer David Dollo (100m, 200m,
400m), sophomore Christophe DuMee (hurdles), and
senior Arthur Franklin (400m).
Distance:
Tonny Okello’s toughest test may come from
his teammates, much like last season. The 2004 and 2005 cross country
All-American did not rest on his laurels and set new P.R.’s
in the 5K, 8K, and 10K during the fall. That spells trouble for
the conference and national foes as Okello seeks to perform better
at this year’s outdoor regionals than he did last year.
Harry
and Stephen Larubi’s stellar
seasons were often overshadowed by the success of fellow Ugandan
international, Okello. The brothers showed great improvement in
the fall, each having career years in cross country. Harry is versatile
and can compete from 800m to 5000m indoors. He will likely concentrate
in the 800m and 1500m outdoors, events in which he was a NCAA Regional
qualifier last season. Stephen broke the indoor 800m record and
was a mere .46 of a second from besting the late David Kimani’s
outdoor 800m school mark set in 2000. The younger Larubi was also
a member of the 4x400m relay that broke the Sun Belt outdoor record.
One addition
to the distance team has already made an impact on the Jaguar cross
country/track and field program. Vincent Rono was
the SBC Runner of the Year this past cross country season. The junior
transfer from Kenyatta University (Kenya) has already had success
on the track, winning the bronze medal at the 2005 World University
Games. Rono had some health issues at the NCAA Cross Country Championship,
but if his fitness holds, he will give the Sun Belt Conference fits
from 800m to 5000m.
Others distance
runners to watch are seniors Jeremiah Carter (800m)
and Eric Birch (800m, 1500m, mile, 3000m).
Field
Events: Ezra Bialy won both conference
triple jump titles and is also USA’s indoor long jump record-holder.
He pops off big leaps at big meets and has worked on his technique
this summer. The senior qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Regional
Championships in 2005 in the triple jump.
Thomas
Fowlkes is another big meet performer in the field for
the Jaguars. During last year’s indoor championships, a clutch
vault by the Mobile native, on his last attempt, earned him second
place and sparked the Jags on the final day of competition. His
win in the pole vault outdoors was also a momentum changer that
helped the men’s team close the gap on Western Kentucky.
Others field
event athletes to watch are sophomore MichaelNeal Bagby
(long, triple jumps), freshman Gary Lambert (long
jump), sophomore Justin Trawick (javelin), and
sophomore Jason Wadibia (shot put, discus, hammer,
and weight throws).
Women’s
Team
Losses:
The Lady Jags lose their top performers from 2005. Consuela
Hamilton was the team’s top long jumper and 55m/100m
sprinter. Veronika Bobakova was an All-Conference
hurdler in both the 100m and 400m disciplines (NCAA qualifier at
400mH) and the anchor leg of the women’s indoor and outdoor
4x400m relay teams. A regional qualifier in cross country and All-Conference
on the track, Angelica Ramirez’s ability
to run all the distance events at a high level will be hard to replace.
Sprints:
Ajoke Odumosu, lost to injury in 2005, was a dominant freshman,
winning the 400m and 400m hurdles within 30 minutes of each other
at the 2004 Sun Belt Outdoor Championships. She is South Alabama’s
record-holder in both events and qualified for the 2004 NCAA Championships
in the hurdles. She finished 29th at this fall’s SBC Cross
Country Championship, the highest Lady Jag finisher, and has the
ability to legitimately run all events between 200m and 800m.
Nicole
Knox overcame some hesitancy about the 400m to score at
the indoor championship meet. She has the speed to be a factor at
the distance if she becomes more consistent in the first 200m of
the race. Her bread and butter is the high jump, as she is the indoor
and outdoor record-holder for South Alabama.
Florence
Edi and Latoria English are both heptathletes
with the ability to score in the individual disciplines as well.
At one point during the last indoor season, Edi held the school’s
high jump and shot put records. The native of Cross River, Nigeria
scored in the 100m hurdles, javelin, and set a new school record
winning the heptathlon at the outdoor championships. She was the
only Jag, male or female, to qualify for the NCAA Championships
(heptathlon). English also had her name next to the high jump record,
both indoors and outdoors, and is a quality high hurdler. The former
Woodham HS (Pensacola, Fla.) star also saw action on the 4x400m
relay. With the pentathlon coming in to the Sun Belt as a scoring
event this year, Edi and English will be busy.
The Lady Jags
have several key additions who should make an immediate impact.
Jessica Miller will probably line up wherever Odumosu
does and post similar results. The freshman from Uruguay had and
excellent first cross country season which may make her a top performer
in the 800m run indoors. That strength, combined with good running
technique, adds up to Miller being the “X” factor for
the Lady Jags outdoor hopes in the 400m, 400m hurdles and relays.
Courtney
Golston, formerly of B.C. Rain HS (Mobile, Ala.) and Jacksonville
State, set the Alabama State High School 5A 300m hurdle record (44.24)
in 2001 and will compete in the low and high hurdle events. The
sophomore has the raw speed to compete in 55m and 100m, as well,
and gives the women’s team another option in the relays.
Darryllisha
Burch and Clarisse Moh are top notch transfers
who specialize in the 400m dash, an event Coach Evans seems to be
stockpiling. Burch was formally under the tutelage of Evans’
Olympic partner Tommie Smith at Santa Monica College (Cali.). Moh
is a national junior champion from Paris.
Others to sprinters
to watch are junior Hannah Fornah (55m, 100m, 200m),
and freshman Dinesha Spradley (hurdles).
Distance:
Cassandra Perkins showed flashes of her potential as a
freshman, setting the Lady Jag steeplechase record at the SBC Outdoor
Championships in 2005. This past cross country season, she improved
her 5K time from 21:04 to 18:39. If she continues at this rate and
becomes more consistent, she could contribute in the 800m, 1500m,
and mile, as well as becoming a bigger factor in the steeplechase.
Sophomore Melissa
Womble is healthy this year, coming back from foot and
ankle injuries in 2005. She improved each week of this past cross
country season, lowering her 5K best three times from 22:58 to 21:44.
Her hardwork in practice could pay off for the Lady Jags is she
can contribute in the mile and 800m.
Marrieta
Mulwa, should be a major addition to the distance team.
Like her Kenyan countryman, Vincent Rono, she is a transfer from
Kenyatta University. She is expected to compete in all the distance
events.
Field
Events: Erin Kinnear has finished no worse than second
in the conference in the pole vault both indoors and outdoors. She
is a two-time NCAA Regional qualifier in the event. The Irish national
record-holder can consistently clear 12 feet and could be the first
woman in the Sun Belt to break the 4m barrier.
Courtney
Dortch led the Lady Jag throwers in the shot and discus
as a freshman last year. The shot is her primary event, as evident
by her breaking the women’s indoor mark a short time after
teammate Edi did at the indoor championship meet. The LeFlore HS
(Mobile, Ala.) product may also add the hammer throw to her repertoire
to become an all-around scorer in the ring for the Lady Jags.
New to the field
event unit for South Alabama's women's team is Emily Sawyer.
She extends the line of quality pole vaulters
from McGill-Toolen at South Alabama. The freshman makes the Lady
Jags three-deep in an event that is competitor-thin in the Sun Belt
Other throwers,
vaulters, and jumpers to watch are sophomore Menjanahary
Evans (javelin, discus), senior Jenna Fowlkes
(pole vault), and junior Cicely Kyle (long, triple
jumps).
Indoor
Schedule
Jan.
21 - Middle Tennessee State Invitational
Jan. 27 - Illinois Open
Feb. 3-4 - Notre Dame Open Invitational
Feb. 17 - LSU Invitational
Feb. 25-26 - Sun Belt Conference Championships
March 10-11 NCAA Championships
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