C-USA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD NOTEBOOK & TOP PERFORMANCES

June 16, 2008

IRVING, Texas - Conference USA sent 45 student-athletes to compete in 55 events at the 2008 NCAA Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Over the four-day event, the league produced its first male national champion and 18 All-Americans as well as recorded its second-best team finishes in C-USA track & field history. UTEP women's finished 10th and the men tied for 13th. In 2000, Houston women placed eighth, while the Miner men took seventh in 2006.

UTEP's Mickael Hanany closed out his college career by capturing his first national title in the men's high jump inside Drake Stadium.

Hanany, a native of Cergy, France, had a career-best of 2.32m (7-7.25") to hold off Nebraska's Dusty Jonas and Kentucky's Grant Lindsey in the final three. Hanany's jump ranks tied for second on the French national list and tied for ninth on the all-time collegiate list. It broke the Drake Stadium record of 2.31m and tied the school record, set by Milt Ottey in 1982.

Hanany went over the bar at 2.29m (7-6") on his first attempt. Jonas and Lindsey both failed to clear 2.29m on three tries. He cleared 2.32m on his second try before suffering a hamstring injury on his second attempt at 2.35m (7-8.5"), which would have broken the French national record.

Hanany also punched his ticket to the Olympics. He needed to clear 7-6.5" sometime in June or July.

He is the league's first individual national champion for the men and UTEP's first since Mircea Bogdan won the 3,000m steeplechase outdoors in 2005. Overall Hanany is UTEP's 44th men's national champion outdoors and 82nd overall.

Alex van der Merwe had a best of 70.60m (231-7") to take fifth in the men's javelin final. It is the first All-American distinction for van der Merwe, who landed 12th in the event each of the last two years.

Senior Patrick Mutai clocked a season-best time of 8:38.48 for a seventh-place showing in the men's 3,000m steeplechase.

The women's 4x100 meter relay of Quashanda Welch, Halimat Ismaila, Shalaiyah Sommerville and Blessing Okagbare finished sixth with a school-record time of 43.95 seconds in what was a very fast final. Champion Texas A&M set a stadium record (42.59) and six of the eight schools in the final registered season-best times.

Okagbare, a sophomore, was the national runner-up in the triple jump with a wind-aided leap of 14.01m (45-11.75"), and senior Nelly Tchayem notched a third-place showing with a wind-aided mark of 13.82m (45-4.25"). Both marks were personal bests and Okagbare eclipsed her own school record in the event.

Okagbare caps a spectacular first year at UTEP by earning three All-America honors at the national outdoor meet. She was second in the triple jump, third in the long jump and ran the final leg on the Miners' sixth-place 4x100 meter relay. Okagbare was a five-time All-America this season, with two accolades indoors.

Senior Elias Koech picked up a fifth-place showing in the finals of the men's 800m with a time of 1:47.85 for the third All-America honor of his career.

Senior Keisha Walkes also ended her career as an All-American, scoring two points by finishing seventh in the women's shot put final. Walkes had a best of 16.37m (53-8.5"), shattering her own school record of 16.29m (53-5.5") which she set in the prelims.

Sophomore Hans Eriksson fouled on all three of his throws and did not place in the men's hammer final.

Eleven Miners earned a total of 13 All-America honors - Hanany (men's high jump), Ismaila (women's 4x100 meter relay), Koech, Mutai (men's 3,000 meter steeplechase), Ng'ojoy (men's 10,000 meters), Okagbare, Sommerville (women's 4x100 relay), Tchayem, Van der Merwe (men's javelin), Walkes and Welch (women's 4x100 relay).

The UTEP women scored 25 points for a 10th-place team finish, their best ever at the national outdoor meet. The men tied for 13th place with 21 points.

HOUSTON
After advancing with a personal-best time of 13.39 of the 100m hurdles prelims, Houston junior Seun Adigun recorded a time of 13.70 in the semis to conclude her NCAA competition in the event.

The Cougar women sent two relay teams to nationals. The 4x100 unit of junior Dayo Ogunniyi, freshman Kalyn Floyd, sophomore Quin'shundolyn McPherson and Adigun crossed the finish line in a 10th-place time of 44.63 in the prelims. The 4x400m relay team of McPherson, freshman Candyce Cross, junior LaNeeka Allen and Floyd posted a time of 3:42.02. Neither squad advanced.

After setting the fastest C-USA mark in the men's 400m hurdles this season, sophomore Jason Perez posted a time of 52.10 in the preliminaries. The finish was not good enough to advance to the semifinals.

Freshman Tyrone Carrier advanced to the 200m semifinals, recording a time of 20.96 in the prelims. However, Carrier's time of 21.30 in the semis ended his rookie season.

MEMPHIS
Memphis senior standout Susan King took home silver medalist and All-American honors in the shot put. She also became the first Tiger to finish second in the event in program history. King's best mark came on her third throw in the circle as she hauled out a mark of 17.68m (58-0.25"). She placed fourth in the shot at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to earn her first All-America honor of her career.

She currently holds the school record in the indoor and outdoor shot put and has qualified for the Olympic trials.

Junior Sivan Aballi fouled all three of her javelin throws in the preliminary round and did not advance to the finals.

Sophomore Steffen Nerdal took sixth place in the men's hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 68.21m (223-9.0"). He fouled his first throw, but rebounded from there as he improved on his school record mark by over two feet. This was Nerdal's second appearance in the hammer at the national championships.

RICE
Rice senior Rachel Greff placed fifth in the pole vault. Greff, sporting the 10th-best mark prior to competition, cleared heights of 3.90m (12-9.5"), 4.00m (13-1.5"), and 4.10m (13-5.25") on her first attempt before coming up short at 4.20m (13-9.25"). By placing fifth in the event, Greff scored four points for the Owls and earned All-America accolades.

The 4x100m relay team of Sarah Lyons, Shakera Reece, Brittany Washington, and Desarie Walwyn did not make it out of preliminaries after being disqualified for passing the baton outside the 20m-passing zone.

Reece earned a trip to the semi-finals of the 100m with a time of 11.86. Her teammate, Walwyn, ran a 12.06 and did not advance.

Lyons, competing in the 400m, did not qualify for the semi-finals after posting a time of 54.42 in the prelims.

In the 3,000m steeplechase, Nicole Mericle ran a time of 10:30.97 and did not advance. Freshman Allison Pye posted a time of 17:36.03 in the 5000m, but did not qualify for the semi-finals.

Freshman Becky Wade placed 20th in the 10,000m final with a time of 35:51.16, while senior Marissa Daniels finished 21st with a time of 35:58.65. The duo were the only runners representing C-USA in the 10,000m.

Rice sophomore Jason Colwick did not advance to the pole vault final after he failed to clear a preliminary height. Colwick entered the competition with the nation's number one mark of 5.55m (18-2.25"). The San Marcos, Texas, native passed on heights set at 4.95m (16-2.75") and at 5.10m (16-8.75"). Colwick then missed on all three of his attempts at 5.25m (17-2.75") to be eliminated from the competition.

SMU
SMU senior Andrea Kvetova finished fourth in the women's javelin. Kvetova's second throw traveled 54.47m (178-8") and earned the Czech Republic native All-America honors. Kvetova finished first in the preliminaries with a heave of 54.85m (179-11").

Freshman Silje Fjortoft also earned All-America honors with a second-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase, clocking a personal-best time of 9:55.54.

Mustang Christina Mueller finished 11th in the discus, posting a throw of 48.20m (158-1").

Ilyssa Pettigrew attempted to reach the 800m finals, but came up just short, finishing 21st in the prelims in 2:09.18.

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss sophomore Ashley May recorded a long jump mark of 6.05m (19-10.25") and 12.38m (40-7.5") in the triple jump, while senior teammate Hana Prudilova had a throw of 44.38m (145-7") in the javelin. Both finished in the top 25 with the top 12 advancing to the finals. Prudilova concludes her career at Southern Miss as the top javelin thrower.

TULSA
Tulsa red-shirt freshman Mark Davidson clocked a time of 3:46.04 for 14th place in the 1,500m. The native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Davidson turned in a spectacular season with two C-USA titles, as he won the indoor 3,000m and the outdoor 1,500m.

USTFCCCA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD ALL-AMERICANS
Women
Susan King, Memphis (shot put)
Rachel Greff, Rice (pole vault)
Andrea Kvetova, SMU (javelin)
Silje Fjortoft, SMU (3,000m SC)
Blessing Okagbare, UTEP (long & triple jumps, 4x100m relay)
Halimat Ismaila, UTEP (4x100m relay)
Quashanda Welch, UTEP (4x100m relay)
Shalaiyah Sommerville, UTEP (4x100m relay)
Nelly Tchayem, UTEP (triple jump)
Keisha Walkes, UTEP (shot put)

Men
Steffen Nerdal, Memphis (hammer)
Japheth Ng'ojoy, UTEP (10,000m)
Alex van der Merwe, UTEP (javelin)
Patrick Mutai, UTEP (3,000m SC)
Mickael Hanany, UTEP (high jump)
Elias Koech, UTEP (800m)

NCAA Championship/Stadium Records
Mickael Hanany of UTEP established a Drake Stadium Record en route to winning the men's high jump title. He cleared 2.32m (7-7.25") for gold medal honors and the record. The previous best of 2.31m (7-7) was established by Brian Brown, unattached, in 1997.