Flyin' Frogs ready for NCAA Midwest Regional
5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM
May 28, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - Following competition at the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships two weeks ago, 25 Flyin' Frogs will take the next step in postseason action by traveling to Lincoln, Neb., this weekend to compete at the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional."It is an exciting time of year and we are really excited about the numbers we are taking to Lincoln. We expect big things this weekend, which will allow us to take our shot at an NCAA title," said head coach Darryl Anderson. "The competition is going to be tough and that is the part that really excites me. We are looking forward to the challenge. Overall, I feel good about the possibility that lies ahead us. We just have to take care of business in Lincoln."
The two-day meet begins Friday afternoon at Ed Weir Stadium on the campus of the University of Nebraska. The Midwest Region includes 42 Division I institutions and 33 athletes that have hit the Olympic `A' standard.
Fans unable to attend the Midwest Regional can watch the regional live as the University of Nebraska will be providing a free live video stream of all the action this weekend. Live results can also be viewed online at www.gofrogs.com.
TCU comes into the regional following a solid showing at the 2008 MWC Championships. Overall, TCU posted 25 NCAA regional qualifying marks, won 15 of the 27 events, set a new St. Kitts national record and recorded two new meet records on the final day of competition in Fort Worth.
What's At Stake In Lincoln
In order to qualify for the NCAA Championships, individuals must place in the top five at NCAA regionals (East, Mideast, Midwest, West), while relay teams must finish in the top three. Individuals or relay teams not placing in the top five or top three, respectively, can still make the field at the NCAA Championships by finishing within the top 12 in each event based on the final national descending order list compiled by the NCAA. The 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place June 11-14 at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Friday's Schedule
TCU will open competition this week in Lincoln on Friday at 1 p.m. with the men's javelin and the women's long jump. Preliminary running events will begin on the track at 1:30 p.m. with the women's 4x100, while the men's 4x100 unit will open action at 1:45 p.m. The Flyin' Frogs will return at 3 p.m. with the men's 110-meter hurdle prelims. The women and men's 100-meter prelims will follow at 3:20 p.m. and 3:40 p.m., respectively. Beginning at 4 p.m. and 4:20 p.m., the women and men's 400-meter dash prelims will take to the track, while the 400-meter hurdles will begin at approximately 5:20 p.m. with the women's prelims. Following hurdle action, TCU will close the sprints on the first-day of competition with the men and women's 200 meter prelims. Women will open up at 6 p.m., while the men will start at 6:20 p.m. The Flyin' Frogs will end the day with the finals of the men's 5,000 meters.
Breaking Down TCU
TCU will have representatives in eight events on the women's side and 11 events on the men's side, as well as all four relays. Virgil Hodge will represent the Flyin' Frogs in three events. The St. Kitts native will run in the 100, 200 and the 4x100 relay. Participating in the women's triple and long jump will be Neidra Covington and JimAnne Hejny, while Hodge and Brittany Blaylock will represent TCU in the 100 meters. Kishelle Paul and Meaghan Peoples will take to the track in the women's 400-meter hurdles, while Jessica Clarke, who dominated the MWC Championships, will don the Purple and White in the 400 meters. TCU will have two representatives in the women's shot put as both Candis Kelley and Stormy Harrison, the nation's No. 1 freshman thrower, will compete in finals action on Friday.
On the men's side, both Andon Mitchell and Justyn Warner will compete in the men's 100 meters, while freshman Jordan Pitts will be TCU's lone representative in the 110-meter hurdles. In the men's 400, Matthew Love and Dell Guy will compete, while Aaron Macklin, who collected a regional qualifying mark two weeks ago, will begin action in the men's 400-meter hurdles. TCU will have three representatives in the 100 meters with Otis McDaniel, Mychal Dungey and Clemore Henry all competing. Festus Kigen will close TCU athletes in the running events by taking to the track in the 5,000 meters. In the field events, seniors Jonathan Jackson and Joe Brown will compete in the triple jump and javelin, respectively. Finally, Tommy Killen will hope to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA's in the men's discus.
Regionals Last Spring
Last spring, the Flyin' Frogs qualified seven individuals and both the men's and women's 4x100 relay teams for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Individually, Justyn Warner won the region in the 100 meters, while Kishelle Paul set a school record in the 400-meter hurdles.
Overall, eight of TCU's 12 individuals and two of four relay teams that competed on the final day of competition punched their tickets to the championships with automatic qualifications.
The National Rankings
The Flyin' Frogs men's outdoor track & field team comes into the regional ranked No. 22 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) rankings.
The TCU women help round out the women's top 25 at No. 23, led by sprinter Virgil Hodge, the nation's fourth-ranked female in the 200 meters. On the men's side, the Flyin' Frogs top ranked individual is triple jumper Jonathan Jackson, the NCAA's No. 2 jumper, while the men's 4x400 unit is ranked seventh overall on the descending order list.
The USTFCCCA Division I indoor track and field rankings are compiled solely from NCAA descending order lists.
Last Time Out
The TCU men, who entered the final day with only 19 points, finished in second-place with 192 points, while the Flyin' Frog women ended competition in fourth with 126 points at the MWC Championships.
Virgil Hodge closed out her MWC career in style as she clocked a new personal best time of 11.21 seconds in the 100 meters to claim her third-straight conference outdoor title. In doing so, Hodge, who set a new St. Kitts national record, broke the meet and complex record in the event. Hodge came back later in the day and posted her third-straight outdoor 200-meter championship title with a time of 22.94.
On the men's side, the Flyin' Frogs posted the top-three times of the day. Justyn Warner won the title by crossing the line in 10.44 seconds, while Otis McDaniel earned runner-up honors by clocking a time of 10.47 seconds. Junior Andon Mitchell closed the TCU scoring by finishing in third-place with a time of 10.55.
In the men's javelin, senior Joe Brown closed his MWC career in winning-fashion, taking the title on his last attempt in competition. Overall, Brown blasted a throw of 221 feet, 7 inches to become only the second Horned Frog ever to win a conference crown in the javelin, and the first since Wes Ritchey won the Southwest Conference in 1954.
In the women's 400, Clarke won the event title with the fifth-fastest time in championship history. Her blazing regional qualifying time of 52.52 is currently the seventh-fastest time in the nation and ranks in the top-50 in the world standings. Overall, the Flyin' Frogs have now won the 400 meters for three-straight years.
TCU freshman Jordan Pitts had an outstanding day on the track as he took home both the 110 and 400-meter hurdle titles. Other highlights on the day included, senior Jonathan Jackson claiming his third career MWC outdoor crown in the men's triple jump with a winning leap of 51 feet, 2 ¼ inches. In the relays, TCU dominated as both the men and women claimed the 4x100 and 4x400 titles.
Finally, Stormy Harrison won the women's shot put title with the second longest throw in Mountain West Conference Championship history and the best by a freshman this spring in the NCAA. No to be outdone, Junior Meaghan Peoples crushed her previous school record in the women's heptathlon to lead TCU on the first-day of competition.
Up Next
The 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place June 11-14 at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Players Mentioned
