Women's Track Prime For Run To The Top At This Weekend's ACC Championships
April 15, 2002
ACC Outdoor Championships
April 19 and 20, 2002
Lannigan Field
Charlottesville, Va.
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Eyes on the Prize
* A week after competing against the best teams in the country at the Sea Ray Invitational, the Maryland track and field team will battle against the best in the ACC at this weekend's ACC Championships from Charlottesville, Va.
Terps at last year's championships
* The women's team will look to improve on last year's sixth place finish at the championships. The women return two members of last year's All-Conference team. Senior Tracy Ojeniyi (Sewell, N.J.) is the defending ACC Champion in the heptathlon (4,723 pts.) and also finished second in the shot put posting a then career best mark (47-5.25). Senior Thema Napier (Columbia, Md.) joined Ojeniyi with honors coming in third in the 400-meter hurdles (59.15).
* The men will look to break through and escape a sixth consecutive last-place finish. The last time the team did not come in last was 1996, when the team placed seventh. The team has also not had an All-Conference performer since Brain Montgomery in 1996.
Who to watch out for: Women
* Napier has been the team's most consistent performer on the track this spring. The school record holder in the 100 and 400-meter hurdles has provisionally qualified in the 400-meter hurdles and leads the team in both the 100 and 400-meter hurdles. Her best overall performance has been at the Alabama Relays when she finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.13) and third in the 400-meter hurdles (58.73).
* Carrying over the momentum of two ACC Indoor Championships, sophomore Toni Jefferson (Baltimore, Md.) has been a strong performer for the team thus far. Jefferson is currently first on the team in the 100 (11.70) and 200 (23.85) meters and is a close second in the 400 meters (53.98). She established a new school record in the 200 meters (23.85) by placing second at the Alabama Relays. Jefferson has finished no lower than sixth in any of the events in which she has competed this season.
* Ojeniyi has had the best spring of any of the Terps in the field. This past weekend at the Sea Ray Invitational, she established a new career best in the shot put (47-6) on her way to a third-place finish. She took first at the Maryland Invitational and brought home a second place finish at the Alabama Relays (47-3).
* Junior Tia Burley (Baltimore, Md.) has also been a top performer for the Terps this season. She established a new career best in the 400 meters (53.80) finishing fifth at the Sea Ray Invitational, edging out Jefferson for the top spot on the team. The previous school record-holder in the 200 meters is second on the team in 200 meters a mere .08 seconds behind Jefferson for the team lead.
* Freshman Bridget Baker (Elkridge, Md.) has been the Terps best long distance runner during the spring. She has the top times in the 5,000 meters (18:32.23) and the 10,000 meters (38:19.27). She is currently sixth in the conference in the 10,000 meters and holds the best time on the team by over 24 seconds.
* Senior Ruth Kura (Potomac, Md.) leads the team in the hammer (167-3), and as of April 9, ranks seventh in the conference. The indoor All-American in the weight throw also is in the conference top ten in the discuss (142-7). Sophomore Labelle Hillgrove (Passaic, N.J.) set a new career best mark in the discuss (144-6) and ranks eighth in the conference in the events.
* Junior Heather Houston (Fort Washington, N.J.) has been the team's best competitor in the jumping pit this spring. She holds the top spot on the team (19-3) which came during a second place finish at the Maryland Invitational. She currently ranks fifth in the conference in the event. ver
* Junior Natalie Dye (Myersville, Md.) is looking for a breakthrough performance in the pole vault. The overall school record holder in the event set a career best in the outdoor vault last season at the ACC Championships (11-11.75). Her outdoor season best effort (10-10) came at the Sea Ray Invitational.
Track contact: Chris Stuchko
Phone: 301-314-1483
Fax: 301-314-9094
E-Mail: lilpenny4@aol.com
