March 27, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
A host of talented senior track and field student-athletes will compete for the last time for the University of Maryland this Saturday when the Terrapins host the Maryland Invitational outdoor meet at the Kehoe Track Complex.
A pair of Atlantic Coast Conference individual champions - hurdler Dominic Berger and jumper Toni Aluko - will close their home careers at the site of two of their top achievements as collegians. Berger won the ACC outdoor title last year in the 110-meter hurdles, while Aluko scored an upset to win the women's high jump, as Maryland hosted the ACC Outdoor Championships.
The pair has put an incredible stamp on the Terrapin program during their time in College Park, with Berger having six marks on Maryland's all-time lists indoors and outdoors, and Aluko posting top-10 marks in five events.
The meet will mark the final home performances for eight women and six men who are Terrapin seniors.
The Terrapins got off to a solid start to the outdoor season last week when the team sent split squads to the Navy Invitational and the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Coastal Carolina. Aluko hit the NCAA regional-qualifying mark by winning the women's high jump at 5 feet, 8.75 inches, while Aysha Gregory had a career-best 180-4 to hit the mark in the women's hammer.
Adam Durham went 14.25 to hit the regional mark in the 110-meter hurdles, while the Maryland 4x400 relay team of Anthony Walker, Kyle Rauser, Sean Lowe and Durham went 3:09.99 to hit the qualifying standard. Overall last weekend, Maryland had a dozen performances meet qualifying standards for the ECAC and IC4A Outdoor meets this May.
Maryland will host 15 other teams in the meet this Saturday, including local squads from American, UDC, Johns Hopkins, Navy, Salisbury and UMBC.
Field events begin at 10 a.m., with running events to being at 9 a.m. The meet is slated to conclude around 7 p.m.
Results and a tentative schedule of events are on www.umterps.com.
TEAMS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR
American, Brockport State, Bucknell, CCNY, Delaware, UDC (women), Essex CC, Johns Hopkins, La Salle, Maryland, Navy (women), New Jersey City College, Penn (women), Salisbury, Slippery Rock, UMBC.
