Track & Field Compete at C-USA Championships
5/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | TRACK AND FIELD
C-USA Championships Preview
Live Results
CHICAGO – DePaul’s track and field squad gears up for the Men’s and Women’s Conference USA Outdoor Championships this weekend in Houston, Texas. The meet will be hosted by the University of Houston on May 12-14.
All events take place at the Carl Lewis/Tom Tellez Track and Field Complex. Competition begins on Thursday at 9:00 am and the last event of the meet will take place at 3:35 pm on Saturday.
Entering this week’s league championships, a number of DePaul student-athletes rank among the best in Conference USA.
On the women’s side, Marlene Key holds the top season performance in the 10,000 meter run with a finish of 34:57.03 at the Penn Relays. Key also ranks fifth in the 3000 meter steeplechase after crossing the line at the Chicagoland Championships in 11:11.37.
Controlling the third spot in the hammer throw is Jamie Holifield with a best toss of 50.02 meters at the Chicagoland Championships. Adding to the field events, Kayla Burks ties for the sixth best performance of C-USA participants with a 1.70 meter high jump at the Raleigh Relays.
The men have shown equal success, holding two first place ranks. Anthony Becknek holds the top spot in the 3000 meter steeplechase, posting a 9:12.31 finish at the Penn Relays. Donnie
Warner sits ahead of the pack in the 10,000 meters with a run at the Penny Relays of 30:40.44.
The Blue Demons have been dominant in the 1500 meter run this past season maintaining two of the top four spots.
Gavin Kennedy ranks second with a 3:48.23 finish this past weekend at the Wisconsin Twilight. Kennedy’s run broke the 21-year old university record held by Jim Dzwierzynski of 3:49.14.
Richard Byrne holds the fourth best performance in conference after posting a time of 3:51.35 in the Mt. SAC Relays. Byrne’s 5000 meter run at the Raleigh Relays also falls seventh with a 14:53.95 time.
In field action, Rashard Deleston soared 14.33 meters in the triple jump at the Redbird Invitational to rank sixth among C-USA performances in the event.
Last year at the C-USA Championships, the men’s team placed 11th, while the
women’s team finished in the 12th spot. Erin Moffett was the only Blue Demon to
win an individual title at the meet in Louisville, Ky. Moffett’s 10:48.95 finish in the
3000m steeplechase kept her ahead of the competition.
For the last five years, a DePaul thrower has won the hammer throw competition at the C-USA Championships. Former All-American Carey Ryan won the event in 2000, 2001, and 2002, followed by former Blue Demon standout Jarrod Jahnke in 2003 and 2004. DePaul will not enlist any men in the hammer throw for this year’s meet, but keep an eye out for Jamie Holifield who ranks third in C-USA and will compete in the event.
Currently, Marlene Key has provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meter run and is the only member of the Blue Demon squad yet to accomplish the goal this season. For those who qualify, the NCAA Mideast Regional is set for May 27-28 in Bloomington, Ind.