Men Picked Second, Women Fourth

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's men were picked second and the women were selected fourth in a poll of the Sun Belt coaches prior to the this weekend's SBC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Denton, Texas. The meet begins Friday at Fouts Field and finishes Sunday evening. The Blue Raider men finished second at the SBC Indoor Championships in February, falling just two points short of a 15th Sun Belt title since joining the league. The men are the two-time defending outdoor champion but lost more than 100 points from last year's championship club. Junior Samuel Adade as well as junior Carl Morgan, senior Carlos Morgan and freshman Festus Chemaoi lead the way for the Blue Raiders this year. Adade ranks second in the SBC in both the 100-meters and 200-meters. His NCAA regional qualifying mark of 21.21 in the 200 ranks 73rd nationally. Carl Morgan ranks second in the SBC in the long jump, fourth in the triple jump and eighth in the javelin. His NCAA regional qualifying mark of 25-2.75 in the long jump ranks 24th in the country. Carlos Morgan is third in the Sun Belt in the long jump, sixth in the 100-meters and fifth in the javelin. Chemaoi has been as consistent as any Blue Raider performer this spring. The SBC Indoor Freshman of the Year ranks first in the 3000-meter steeplechase, second in the 5000-meters, third in the 1500-meters and sixth in the 800-meters. Sophomore DeRay Sloss has also posted an NCAA regional qualifying time of 14.29 in the 110-meter hurdles, while junior Brandon Jones has come on strong in the last month in the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 47-8. Head coach Dean Hayes says this year's team is really just learning because of the youth throughout the roster, which includes 12 freshmen and sophomores and just three seniors. "This group, even more than the women, learned some things from the indoor meet and has really improved in some events this spring," Hayes said. "We have to get some people to pick it up to give us a chance to win, but even more important is how things fall into place. "We're more dependent on the distances than we have been in the past with Festus as well as William [Songock], Isaac [Biwott], Julius [Kirui] and a few others, which makes it different and interesting. I think we only scored one point in the distances when we won last year." Sophomores Zamzam Sangau, Brittany Cox and Sarah Nambawa lead a strong but young group of Blue Raider women into the championships. Sangau set the 3000-meter school record this spring and has been less than a second from breaking the 800 and 1500-meter marks as well. She ranks first in the SBC in the 1500 and second in the 800 heading into the weekend. Cox had a disappointing SBC Indoor meet but has bounced back with a strong outdoor season, twice breaking the school record in the hammer throw. Cox ranks first in the Sun Belt in the shot put with a mark of 49-0.25 as well as fifth in the hammer and ninth in the discus. Nambawa has continued her strong year, posting an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 43-1.5 in the triple jump, the best in the Sun Belt this spring. It also ranks 14th nationally in the triple jump. Nambawa is ranked fifth in the long jump in the Sun Belt as well. The Blue Raider women have only one senior on this year's squad, Marjorie Gombert, who is closing out her career with another good season. Gombert ranks fifth in the SBC in the 800 and sixth in the 1500 heading into the championships. "The women being picked fourth is about right unless things really get going for us as a team, which can certainly be done. That's how we won the outdoor meet a couple of times in the Sun Belt," Hayes said. "Zamzam has been very consistent and Brittany has as well, and Sarah and Kortney [Thurman] both continue to do well in the jumps. "We just have to watch out for injuries on both teams and hope things fall in the right place for us." Live results from this weekend's meet may be found at http://www.deltatiming.com/events/2008/sunbeltout/?DB_OEM_ID=4100, while a schedule of events may be found at http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/31635. Sun Belt Outdoor Championships
Predicted Order of Finish
MEN
1. Western Kentucky
2. Middle Tennessee
3. Troy
4. North Texas
5. Arkansas State
6. Louisiana-Monroe
7. UALR
8. South Alabama
9. Florida International
10. Louisiana-Lafayette
WOMEN
1. Western Kentucky
2. North Texas
3. Troy
4. Middle Tennessee
5. Louisiana-Monroe
6. South Alabama
7. Florida International
8. Florida Atlantic
9. Arkansas State
10. UALR
11. Louisiana-Lafayette

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