Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Sun Belt Championships
Middle Tennessee Up For Challenge At SBC Track & Field Championships
5/12/2005 7:00:00 AM | Track & Field/Cross Country
But Hayes has seen enough fight in his team to realize they will battle to contend and then who knows what will happen?
"On the women's side I figure there are four teams that will fight it out for the title," Hayes predicted. "New Mexico State is the defending champion but they struggled some Indoors so I really would have to think it's North Texas, which won Indoors, and then Western Kentucky was second and we were third. Outdoors, though, I believe Florida International should be a lot stronger because they have two with Outdoor eligibility that did not have Indoor eligibility. Any of those four teams could win it or finish fourth.
"On the men's side I would think it's between Arkansas State and South Alabama," Hayes continued. "We will likely fight it out with Florida International and Western Kentucky for third, fourth and fifth. That where it stands without the sprinters we usually have. Our chances to win the title will be pretty slim."
The Blue Raiders have won the 200-meters and the 4x100-meter relay all four years in the Sun Belt, while winning the 100-meters, the 400 and 400 hurdles three of the four years. Middle Tennessee's men own the Sun Belt's 100, 200 and 400 championship records, but it lost all four members of the mile relay team and the chief contributors to the success the squad had in the sprint events during recent years.
"We will do fine with what we have, we just don't have the quality depth we are accustomed to having this time around," Hayes said. "The performers we take will do well, though, I do believe."
Junior sprinter VanTonio Fraley has posted Top 20 times in the 100 and 200 this season. His time of 10.43 in the 100 is 15th nationally, while his finish of 21.15 in the 200 is 20th best nationally. Linnie Yarbrough has been outstanding in the hurdles all season and his time of 13.70 is the fifth fastest time in the nation. Freshman standout Alex Pruitt's mark of 6-10.75 in the high jump is 16th nationally, and Greg Jones should be a contender in the triple jump.
Middle Tennessee also has been strong in the throws with James Thomas and Lindsay Sims leading the charge. Bolstering the Blue Raiders' cause will be the addition of the javelin and discus in the Outdoor meet, events which do not take place during the Indoor championships.
The Blue Raiders also should have a chance to rack up points in distance events with Derek Dell and Jonathan Guillou, who have demonstrated improvement throughout the year.
The Lady Raiders' hopes for a title should not be as daunting a task as the Blue Raiders - if the meet is as competitive as Hayes believes it can be.
"We do have a chance to score a lot of points," Hayes said. "The big thing we need to happen in order for us to have a chance to win the title is that the points get split and then we kind of have something or nothing."
Kishara George has always performed well in the SBC Championships and her time of 59.56 in the 400 hurdles is sixth-best nationally, while Laetitia Florimond is 18th in the shot put (47-5.25) and Stephanie Tamgho is 28th in the long jump (19-6.25).
Candice Robertson also has been strong in the high hurdles, along with Jessica Anderson, with both presenting the opportunity for points, while Florimond and Meaghan Byrd will be counted on in field events. Tamgho has the ability to gain points in both the long jump and triple jump, but she also has been inconsistent and will need to put together her best performances this week. Marjorie Gombert has performed well in the 800 and she will also provide a spark on the relay teams.
The SBC Championships begin Friday at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park in New Orleans, La. Live scoring may be followed throughout the meet from a link on the track page at GoBlueRaiders.com.
