Frogs Set For 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships
3/10/2010 12:00:00 AM
March 10, 2010
NOTES | LIVE RESULTS | LIVE VIDEO
FORT WORTH, Texas - Members of the TCU track and field program will put the finishing touches on its 2010 indoor season this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.The Horned Frogs will send a good nucleus to nationals with five individuals and one relay set to compete in Fayetteville. The two-day meet, which will begin on Friday, March 12, will take place at the University of Arkansas.
"We are excited about the possibilities that exist on both sides heading into the NCAA meet this weekend," said head coach Darryl Anderson. "I think everyone that is going has a great opportunity to compete and do well. At the end of the day, when you take the top 15 to 20 student-athletes in each event, it is an outstanding accomplishment to be a part of the NCAA Indoor Championships. I think this indoor season has been great for us because we have missed so much training because of weather. It's probably been the best indoor season in my six years here. It really says a lot about the fortitude of our kids that were able to battle through the adverse conditions and get into the NCAA meet. We are well on our way to having a really good track and field season here at TCU."
The meet will begin on Friday with the men's heptathlon starting at 10 a.m. Following the heptathlon, the rest of the NCAA Championships will open with the women's weight throw inside Walker Pavilion at Noon, while the prelims of the men's mile run will begin at 4:55 p.m. at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
TCU comes into nationals following successful outings at the Arkansas Last Chance Meet and Iowa State NCAA Qualifier, respectively. In Fayetteville, both Neidra Covington and Whitney Gipson captured first-place accolades with seasonal-best marks to qualify for nationals in the women's triple and long jump, respectively.
The following day, the men's 4x400 led the Horned Frogs at Iowa State, clocking an NCAA automatic to punch their ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Kristal Juarez also had a stellar outing in Ames, bettering her school record to qualify for nationals in the women's 400 meters.
Follow The Horned Frogs
The NCAA Championships begin on Friday afternoon with the men's heptathlon and run through Saturday night in Fayetteville. Reserved tickets for the two-day meet sell for $35, while general admission tickets are $25. Tickets can be purchased through www.arkansasrazorbacks.com.
Fans not able to attend the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville can follow it live by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. There you will find a link to the live results tab, which is located on the schedule page. Following action inside the Randal Tyson Track Center on both days, a full recap and final results will be posted on the TCU athletics website.
ESPN360.com will also stream the championships live both days. Coverage on Friday begins at 8 p.m., while Saturday will open at 6:10 p.m. Fans wishing to access ESPN360 can do so by visiting www.ESPN360.com. NCAA.com will stream supplemental coverage as available when ESPN360.com is not live. In addition, ESPN2 will air a 90-minute showing of the NCAA Indoor Championships on Wednesday, March 17 at 12:30 p.m. CT.
The Frogs Opening Round Schedule
The Horned Frogs will open competition this week in Fayetteville on Friday, March 12 with the qualifying round of the women's 400 meters at 6:10 p.m. Action will continue on the track at 6:40 p.m. with the first round of the women's 60 meters, while the prelims of the women's 200 meters will start at 7:40 p.m. Finally, the Horned Frogs will take to the runway at 7:25 p.m. with the women's long jump.
The TCU men will begin action at nationals on Friday with the finals of the men's 5,000 meters at 8:00 p.m.
Following the first day of competition, the women's triple jump will open at 6:30 p.m., while the men's 4x400 will look to garner All-America honors on Saturday night at 8:25 p.m. inside the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Covington Returning To Indoor Nationals
When senior Neidra Covington opens competition inside the Randal Tyson Track Center this weekend, the three-time All-American will return to a place where she has shined in the past. Last weekend, Covington posted a seasonal-best mark of 43 feet, 2 1/2 inches in the women's triple jump to qualify for nationals. In 2008, Covington garnered her first two All-America accolades inside the Randal Tyson Track Center. She will look to close her indoor career this weekend trying to capture her second-straight All-America outing after earning Outdoor All-American honors last spring in the women's triple jump, which took place in Fayetteville.
Men's 4x400 Looks For National Title
The men's 4x400 quartet of Dell Guy, Clemore Henry, Mychal Dungey and Matthew Love return to the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend with the nation's No. 5 ranking. The unit, which also ranks in the top 10 in the IAAF World Standings, will look to become only the second men's 4x400 to capture an NCAA Indoor National Championship in TCU history. The Horned Frogs last captured a 4x400 title during the 2000 season. History is on the side of the Frogs as well as three out of the four members of this year's nationally ranked relay were a part of the unit that earned runner-up accolades at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville.
Corinealdi Shining Early In Career
Even though she has only been on campus for a few months, Chaniqua Corinealdi has made her presence felt early and often this indoor season. The freshman, who graduated early from high school to come to TCU, will compete in both the 60 and 200 meters at nationals this weekend. Two weeks ago, Corinealdi won the women's 60 meters at the conference championships, while also crossing the finish line in second-place in the 200 meters. She brings seasonal-best 60 and 200-meter times of 7.33 and 23.67 seconds, respectively, into the NCAA meet.
Juarez Does It Again
Following a record setting conference championship, junior Kristal Juarez shattered her week old school record in the women's 400 meters last weekend, cruising to a first-place finish at the Iowa State NCAA Qualifier with a personal-best time of 53.13 seconds. Juarez will be making her first indoor national appearance this week in Fayetteville.
Kigen Looks To Become First Horned Frog
Festus Kigen has another chance to make TCU history this weekend if he is able to win the 5,000 meters at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. Two weeks ago, Kigen became the first Horned Frog ever to win a 5,000-meter title in the Mountain West Conference. This Friday, he has the opportunity to become the first Horned Frog to win an NCAA title since Jackson Langat won the men's 800 in 2006. Overall, TCU has never had a student-athlete in its history earn All-America honors in the 5,000 meters. The Kenya native, who ranks No. 12 in the NCAA, will open competition on Friday night with the finals of the men's 5,000 meters.
NCAA Breakdown
Women's 60 and 200 Meters
Chaniqua Corinealdi
Corinealdi will represent TCU in both the women's 60 and 200 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the 60 meters, Corinealdi breezed by the competition recently at the conference championships, clocking a personal and seasonal-best time of 7.33 seconds to place first overall. Corinealdi's time when converted, which was the third-fastest time ever recorded in TCU history, is currently ranked No. 21 overall in the NCAA heading into nationals.
The Killeen native also brings a personal and seasonal-best time of 23.67 seconds in the 200 meters into the Randal Tyson Track Center this week. At the Mountain West Conference Championships, Corinealdi collected runner-up accolades in the event with the nation's No. 21 ranked time.
Overall, she claimed the final spot in both the 60 and 200 meters on the national performance list.
Women's 400 Meters
Kristal Juarez
Juarez will look to make a name for herself in the women's 400 meters after blazing to a personal-best and new school record time of 53.13 seconds to place first overall in the women's 400 meters at the Iowa State NCAA Qualifier last Saturday afternoon. Juarez heads to nationals with the nations No. 11 ranked time amongst competitors competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Women's Long Jump
Whitney Gipson
Gipson heads to her first NCAA Indoor Championships after soaring 20 feet 9 ¾ inches on her final attempt to place first overall last weekend at the Arkansas Last Chance Meet. The sophomore's seasonal and personal-best leap, which just missed an NCAA automatic, is currently the No. 15 ranked leap in the NCAA heading into nationals. It is also the second-best jump ever in program history and 14th amongst student-athletes competing in the women's long jump at nationals.
Women's Triple Jump
Neidra Covington
Covington will look to close her indoor career in style this week after claiming first-place accolades in the women's triple jump last weekend in Fayetteville with a seasonal-best jump of 43 feet, 2 1/2 inches. The senior, who is a three-time All-American, currently sits No. 11 in the NCAA. Overall, she comes into nationals with the ninth-best leap amongst competitors competing inside the Randal Tyson Track Center this week.
Men's 5,000 Meters
Festus Kigen
Coming off a conference championship, Kigen will be competing in his first NCAA Indoor Championships this week in Fayetteville. The Kenya native claimed first-place honors in the men's 5,000 meters at the conference championships with a seasonal-best and converted time of 13:51.72. His time, which broke the previous meet record, was also an Albuquerque Convention Center record. By winning the event, Kigen captured the first Mountain West Conference title in the 5,000 meters in TCU history and the first conference 5,000-meter title since former Horned Frog great Kip Kangogo won Conference USA in 2005. Finally, Kigen's time sits No. 12 in the NCAA heading into the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Men's 4x400
The unit, which consists of Dell Guy, Clemore Henry, Mychal Dungey and Matthew Love, heads to Fayetteville after crossing the finish line in first-place at the Iowa State NCAA Qualifier last weekend with an NCAA automatic time of 3:06.27. The quartet's seasonal-best time, which is currently the No. 5 ranked relay in the NCAA, is the fourth-fastest time ever recorded in TCU history.
Frogs Earn All-Conference Accolades
After claiming 10 individual conference titles at the 2010 Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships, the TCU track and field team was honored with the announcement of the league's Men's and Women's All-Mountain West Conference Indoor team.
As announced by the league office, TCU had 20 student-athletes named to the Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field team. Following a runner-up performance on both sides, the women's team had 10 selections, while the men's team also had 10 student-athlete honorees.
In total, TCU's women's team had all-conference selections in 10 events, while the men's team had all-conference selections in eight different events.
Headlining TCU's selections were Chaniqua Corinealdi, Clemore Henry, Festus Kigen and Jordan Pitts, who each made the list in three different events. Kristal Juarez, Teneshia Peart, Rose Tanui and Mychal Dungey each were honored two times.
2009 Recap Of NCAA Indoor Championships
The women's 4x400 clocked a fourth-place finish to collect All-America honors at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships.
The 4x400 quartet consisting of Hayley Shade, Kishelle Paul, Jessica Clarke and Jessica Young collected fourth-place honors with a time of 3:36.51. The fourth-place finish was the highest finish posted by a women's 4x400 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in program history.
In the women's 60 meters, Young captured All-America honors by crossing the finish line in fourth-place with a time of 7.27 seconds.
Overall, TCU, who closed the meet in 22nd-place, posted its highest finish on the women's side at the NCAA Indoors since 1983, while also recording its second highest finish in program history at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Top Billings In The Mountain West Conference
Heading into the NCAA Championships, TCU currently holds the top spot in the Mountain West Conference in 10 different events. In addition, the Frogs have the top-two times posted in the men's 60 and 200 meters. TCU has also posted the top-time on both sides in the 4x400, 60 meters, 400 meters and 60-meter hurdles.
TCU In World Rankings
The men's 4x400 quartet of Dell Guy, Clemore Henry, Mychal Dungey and Matthew Love cracked the world rankings in the 4x400, ranking No. 5 among teams in the world standings according to the IAAF.
Purple and White Spread Throughout National Rankings
Individually, Charles Silmon is No. 17 in the nation in the men's 60 meters, while the men's 4x400 is currently the No. 5 ranked team in the national rankings. Skye Dawson rounds out the national rankings in the men's 60 meters, sitting with the 28th-fastest time in the NCAA. Junior Festus Kigen heads to nationals with the No. 22 and No. 12 ranked time in the men's 3,000 and 5,000 meters, respectively, while Clemore Henry and Mychal Dungey are currently No. 20 and No. 24 overall in the men's 200 meters.
On the women's side, Neidra Covington has recorded the 11th-best leap in the triple jump, while Whitney Gipson sits No. 15 overall in the women's long jump heading into the NCAA Championships. Covington also ranks No. 22 overall in the long jump. Freshman Chaniqua Corinealdi is No. 21 in both the 60 and 200 meters, while Kristal Juarez is No. 12 overall in the 400 meters.
Home Meet Information
TCU will once again host two meets this spring at the Lowdon Track & Field Complex. TCU will kickoff its outdoor season with the fourth annual Horned Frog Invitational on March 19-20. The Flyin' Frogs will then host the 11th annual TCU Invitational on April 16-17.
Up Next
TCU will open its outdoor season at home next Friday with the fourth annual Horned Frog Invitational at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex.
Players Mentioned
