Frogs Travel To 34th Annual Bobby Lane Invitational
3/25/2010 12:00:00 AM
March 25, 2010
NOTES | | HEAT SHEETS
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU will continue its outdoor season this Saturday at the 34th annual Bobby Lane Invitational in Arlington."We are heading over to the Bobby Lane Invitational this weekend and looking to take another step," said head coach Darryl Anderson. "We really want to continue to keep developing this team and get as many people into the top 48 as we possibly can. A lot of our indoor national competitors will begin their outdoor season's in Arlington this weekend, which will be a good test before Texas Relays."
The meet will open at 9 a.m. with the women's pole vault, while running events will take to the track at 1 p.m. with the finals of the women's 3,000 meters. The two-day meet will conclude at 7:30 p.m. with the running of the men's 4x400 inside Maverick Stadium on the campus of UT-Arlington.
Teams competing this weekend include Iowa State, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts, SMU, Stephen F. Austin, TCU, Tulsa, UTA, Wichita State and several others.
The Horned Frogs opened their 2010 outdoor season last Saturday, collecting 12 first-place honors at the Horned Frog Invitational, including two that ranked in the top 5 in the world standings.
Follow The Horned Frogs Live
Fans not able to attend the Bobby Lane Invitational this Saturday 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 on Saturday in Arlington, a full recap and final results will be posted on the TCU athletics website.
4x100 Explodes Out Of The Gate
When the men's 4x100 quartet of Skye Dawson, Charles Silmon, Mychal Dungey and Clemore Henry clocked a season-opening time of 39.48 seconds last weekend, the unit not only recorded the No. 1 time in the nation, but also the No. 5 ranked time in the world standings. When you break it down further, the 2010 Frogs are way ahead of the 2009 version of the men's 4x100 at this point in the season. In 2009, the men's 4x100 didn't clock below a 39.50 until the post-season, while the 2008 4x100 quartet only posted a seasonal-best time of 39.55.
Pitts Steps Up
Jordan Pitts opened his outdoor season strong this past weekend, clocking a personal-best time of 13.94 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. Simply put, the junior's time is the fastest time he has recorded in the event since the 2008 season. Pitts, who previously clocked a personal-best time of 14.07 seconds, currently sits No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 7 in the NCAA. Last spring, Pitts clocked his seasonal-best mark on the opening weekend of the outdoor season.
Gipson Shines In Opener
Fresh off a sixth-place showing at the NCAA Indoor Championships, sophomore Whitney Gipson continued her impressive showing on the runway this past weekend, winning the women's long jump at the Horned Frog Invitational with a personal-best leap of 20 feet, 11 ¼ inches. Gipson, who is now a two-time All-America honoree, is way ahead of where she was at this point during her first year in Fort Worth, having posted a leap of 20 feet, 2 ¼ inches during the 2009 Horned Frog Invitational. Overall, the sophomore, who earned Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week honors for her efforts this past weekend, is currently No. 4 in the world standings and No. 1 in the NCAA.
Dungey and Gipson Honored By Conference
Junior Mychal Dungey and sophomore Whitney Gipson were selected as the Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week on Tuesday.
Dungey opened his outdoor season last Friday dominating the competition, crossing the finish line in first-place in the men's 200 meters with a conference leading time of 20.92 seconds, which also ranks No. 1 in the nation this spring. He was also part of the men's 4x100 that clocked a season-opening time of 39.48 seconds. Dungey helped the unit post the No. 1 time in the NCAA and MWC this spring. He also helped the quartet clock the No. 5 ranked time in the world standings according to IAAF.
Gipson soared 20 feet, 11 ¼ inches in the women's long jump last Friday to post the No. 1 jump in the NCAA and the fourth-best leap in the world. Her leap is also the No. 1 jump in the Mountain West Conference this spring and the second-best jump in program history. Finally, Gipson helped the women's 4x100 earn runner-up accolades with the conferences best time and No. 14 ranked time in the NCAA.
Top Marks In The Mountain West Conference
Heading into the Bobby Lane Invitational, TCU currently holds the top spot in the Mountain West Conference in 11 different events. Overall, the Horned Frogs lead the conference in the men's 100, 200, 110-meter hurdles, 4x100, 4x400, shot put and discus. On the women's side, the Purple and White top the conference in the 100, 200, 4x100 and long jump. In addition, TCU has the top-four times posted in the men's 200 meters and the top-two marks recorded in the women's 200 meters.
TCU In World Rankings
The Horned Frogs opened the outdoor season in fine fashion, recording two marks that currently rank in the top 5 in the world standings according to IAAF.
Sophomore Whitney Gipson soared to the No. 4 jump in the world in the women's long jump, while the men's 4x100 clocked the No. 5 ranked time in the world rankings according to IAAF. Jamaica and Puerto Rico currently hold the top four times in the world, thus letting TCU's quartet lay claim to the top American time clocked during the early portion of the outdoor season.
Purple and White Once Again Spread Throughout National Rankings
Following its outdoor opener, the Frogs have several student-athletes ranked in the top 25 in the national rankings. In the men's 200 meters, Mychal Dungey currently sits No. 1, while Charles Silmon and Dell Guy rank No. 8 and No. 17, respectively.
On the women's side, Whitney Gipson, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the women's long jump, has clocked the 22nd-fastest time in the NCAA in the 200 meters. Guy and Clemore Henry lead TCU in the men's 400 meters, rounding out the top 25 at No. 22 and No. 23.
In the 110-meter hurdles, junior Jordan Pitts heads into this weekend with the No. 7 ranked time.
In the relays, the men's 4x100 currently sits No. 1 in the NCAA, while the women's 4x100 is currently No. 14. Finally, the men's 4x400 bring the 17th-fastest time into the Bobby Lane Invitational.
TCU dominated the women's long jump rankings with both Gipson and Neidra Covington ranking in the top 5 in the NCAA. Gipson is currently No. 1, while Covington follows in No. 3.
Cameron Tabor cracked the top 25 in the men's shot put this past weekend, ranking No. 22 overall in the NCAA. On the women's side, freshman Kelsey Samuels sits No. 10 in the nation, while junior Stormy Harrison is No. 25. Tommy Killen leads the Frogs in the discus, ranking No. 13, while Tabor heads into this weekend with the nation's No. 23 ranked throw.
A New Way Of Thinking This Outdoor Season
The 2010 outdoor campaign will mark the first season that NCAA Division I schools will utilize a "preliminary round" format for determining qualifiers for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet, which will be hosted by the University of Oregon on June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore.
As opposed to the past six years, where four regional meets were held for the purpose of determining who advances to the NCAA Championship meet, the 2010 season will feature East and West Preliminary Rounds, held in Greensboro, N.C., and Austin, Texas, respectively.
The holders of the top 48 marks in each event will advance to either the East or West Preliminary Round site, based on their school's geographical location. Both preliminary round meets will be held May 27-29, with North Carolina A&T hosting the East site and the University of Texas hosting the West version.
All states west of the Mississippi River, plus Illinois and Wisconsin and with the exception of Louisiana, will compete in the West Preliminary Round. All other states will compete in the East meet.
Home Meet Information
TCU will host one other meet this spring at the Lowdon Track & Field Complex. The Horned Frogs will host the 11th annual TCU Invitational on April 16-17.
Up Next
TCU will compete next week at the Texas Relays in Austin. Competition begins on Wednesday with the women's heptathlon.
Players Mentioned
