Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 23
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
10:00 AM
Middle Tennessee
vs
Sun Belt Championships
Photo by: Jae S. Lee
SBC Coaches Favor Blue Raiders
2/21/2002 4:31:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country
NEW ORLEANS - The Middle Tennessee men's and women's track and field teams have been picked by the
league's coaches to repeat as champions at this weekend's 2002 Sun Belt Conference Championships, as announced today by the league office. The meet will be held at The Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., February 23-24.
The Blue Raiders, who picked up 79 points and six first-place votes, will be led by their sprinters. Mardy Scales has provisionally qualified for
the NCAA Championships in both the 55-meter dash and the 60-meter dash, while Godfrey Herring sprinted his way to a qualifying mark in the 400 meters. Jasper Demps, a 2001 All-American in the 60-meter hurdles, is the Sun Belt Conference record-holder in the event.
Arkansas State followed MT with 71 points and two first-place votes. Middle distance runner Seth Bortey carries the track events, but ASU's field events lead them into the meet. Long jumper Mesut Yavas, who was the Sun Belt's field performer of the week three times this year, holds the Sun Belt record and has the league's only provisional qualifying leap of the season. Teammate Candon Powell also holds
a league record with his NCAA qualifying toss of 63-6.75 in the weight throw. Powell is also one of the league's best in the shot put.
Western Kentucky and North Texas finished next in the poll, followed closely by Florida International. Arkansas-Little Rock and South Alabama followed, with Louisiana-Lafayette and New Orleans rounding out the selections.
UALR sprinter Chris Johnson is another Sun Belt athlete that sports an NCAA qualifying mark. Johnson has sprinted his way to a conference record and provisional mark of 6.18 seconds in the 55 meter dash. His 6.65 in the 60 meters also meets the NCAA
requirements. Teammate Greg Lee will look to be one of the nation's elite as well. Lee's 7.91 in the 60-meter hurdles is only .01 seconds off the NCAA standard.
The league's coaches have also picked Middle Tennessee to finish on top of the women's side. The Lady Raiders nabbed eight first-place votes and a total of 93 points, just eight points ahead of the Golden Panthers of Florida International. Arkansas State was near the
top with 72 points, followed by Arkansas-Little Rock, Western Kentucky and North Texas. South Alabama, New Mexico State, Louisiana-Lafayette and New Orleans were selected in the 7-10 spots.
The Lady Raiders are deepest in the jumps where they sport four of the top five triple jumpers in the league, led by last year's indoor champion Kim Freeman. Freeman, who finished 11 th at last year's indoor NCAA meet, sports the season's longest jump of 41-3. Teammates Letitia Eady and Stephanie Reid are the only other two jumpers in the league with a leap of more than 40 feet. The trio will
also look for a sweep in the long jump event, where six Lady Raiders are among the top 10 in the conference.
Arkansas State's Michelle Legatt has been dominant in the pole vault ever since she entered the league, evident in her 2001 SBC Championship title. The sophomore vaulter has provisionally qualified for the NCAA meet at 12-06.25 and enters the 2002 Championships
as the only Sun Belt woman to clear 12 feet this season. The Lady Indians will also look to dominate the weight throw, with Isela Mendoza leading the way with a heave of 54-01.75.
Florida International's hopes for a title will fall upon their sprinting crew. Vronique Wilson has blazed to the fastest time in the league in the 55 meters, while Anita Edwards has taken over in both the 200 and 400-meter races. Edward's 55.00 is good for a qualifying time in the 400.
Expect a close race in the 800 meters. South Alabama's Bibiche Mankatu and 2001 Sun Belt runner-up Jenny Sjostrom of UALR have both met the NCAA criteria and enter this week with only a 0.01 second gap between them. Sjostrom will also look to be a factor in the
mile, where teammate Leah Thorvilson is the only runner in the league to post a sub-5 minute time.
North Texas' Maria Spencer is also looking to cement herself as one of the best high jumpers in Sun Belt history, as she attempts to break a league mark and qualify for the NCAA meet. Her jump of 5-8.50 is close to the league mark of 5-10 and the provisional standard of 5- 09.75. NT's Monica Coates has been the model of consistency in the hurdles, posting the best times in the league in the both the 55
meter and 60 meter distances.
Predicted order of finish:
Men
# Team (First Place Votes)
1. Middle Tennessee (7) 79
2. Arkansas State (2) 71
3. Western Kentucky 53
4. North Texas 49
5. Florida International 48
6. Arkansas-Little Rock 41
7. South Alabama 31
8. Louisiana-Lafayette 23
9. New Orleans 10
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# Team (First Place Votes)
1. Middle Tennessee (8) 93
2. Florida International (1) 85
3. Arkansas State (1) 72
4. Arkansas-Little Rock 62
5. Western Kentucky 58
6. North Texas 56
7. South Alabama 52
8. New Mexico State 37
9. Louisiana-Lafayette 20
10. New Orleans 15
Men
# Team (First Place Votes)
1. Middle Tennessee (7) 79
2. Arkansas State (2) 71
3. Western Kentucky 53
4. North Texas 49
5. Florida International 48
6. Arkansas-Little Rock 41
7. South Alabama 31
8. Louisiana-Lafayette 23
9. New Orleans 10
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# Team (First Place Votes)
1. Middle Tennessee (8) 93
2. Florida International (1) 85
3. Arkansas State (1) 72
4. Arkansas-Little Rock 62
5. Western Kentucky 58
6. North Texas 56
7. South Alabama 52
8. New Mexico State 37
9. Louisiana-Lafayette 20
10. New Orleans 15
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