Deacon Track Teams To Compete at ETSU Niswonger Invitational
1/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Jan. 21, 2005
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's and women's track teams will travel to Johnson City, Tenn. for this weekend's Niswonger Invitational. The meet marks the second indoor competition for the 2005 squads this year.
"We had a good outing last weekend in Blacksburg and this weekend will be another chance to improve on that," said men's head coach Scott Hall. "Last week's meet was the first collegiate competition for many and I think their comfort levels will be higher this week. It will be nice to compete on a big track against some quality competition."
The meet will showcase some of the world's top collegiate, post-collegiate, and professional athletes. The field of participants has increased dramatically since last year and currently over 80 men's and women's teams have entered this year's competition which is double in comparison to last year's 41 men's and women's teams.
In addition to Wake Forest, this year's field includes Atlantic Coast Conference schools such as Georgia Tech, Florida State, and North Carolina, as well as Southeastern Conference schools Alabama and Tennessee. A contingent of athletes from the Southern Conference is also set to participate in the event as Appalachian State, College of Charleston, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, UNC Greensboro, and Western Carolina will help ETSU in representing the SoCon.
This year's meet features the following six elite invitational events: women's and men's 3000 meters, women's and men's 60-meter dash, and women's and men's 60-meter hurdles.
Some of the world-class athletes participating in this year's meet include ETSU alumni Catherine Berry, a native of Surrey, England. Berry will compete in the 3000 meter invitational. USA Track and Field's Miguel Pate and Savanté Stringfellow, both sponsored by Nike, will compete in the long jump.
Pate was the 2002 and 2003 USA Indoor champion and placed third at the 2003 World Indoor Championships. In 2002 Pate claimed the NCAA Indoor Championship and in 2001, he was the World University Games champion and placed fourth at the World Outdoor Championships. He holds personal bests of 8.59m in the long jump and 16.62m in the triple jump.
Stringfellow earned a gold medal at the 2004 World Indoor Championships and was the World Outdoor silver medalist in 2001. He is a two-time USA Indoor long jump champion winning the event in 2000 and in 2004, and a two-time USA Outdoor long jump champion winning the event in 2001 and 2002. During his career at Mississippi State, Stringfellow was a four-time NCAA champion. His personal best stands at 8.52m and he holds the Niswonger Foundation long jump record with an 8.15m mark.
The French National team will also be making their second appearance at the meet and will bring 20 athletes to this year's competition including Ladji Doucouré, who recently finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles at the Olympics in Athens, Greece. Doucouré holds a personal best of 6.77 in the 60-meter dash and 7.54 in the 60-meter hurdles.
The Niswonger Invitational begins Friday at 11:30 a.m. and the final event of the evening is set to begin at 9:00 p.m. Saturday's events begin at 8:00 a.m. and run all day with the last event scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
"This will be a good test for us to see if our racing skills are rusty," said Deacon track and field director Annie Bennett. "But most importantly to test our fitness."
To purchase tickets for the meet please contact the ETSU ticket office at (423) 439-ETSU (3878). The ticket price for both days of competition is $10 for adults and $4 for students and youth. Each adult ticket purchased enters the individual in a drawing to win a framed autographed picture of NASCAR legend Dale Eanrhardt and his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. The drawing will be held on Saturday and individuals must be present to win.
For more information on the Niswonger Track and Field Invitational including a detailed schedule, list of entrants, and results from the meet please visit www.flashresults.com/etsu.
