May 12, 2006

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Lamar University Track and Field teams head to Arlington for the 2006 Southland Conference men's and women's outdoor track and field championships May 13-15, hosted by the University of Texas at Arlington at Maverick Stadium.

Several Lamar runners enter the SLC meet with high expectations, after positioning themselves at the top of the conference rankings in the respective events.

Senior Chinelo Nwobu enters the SLC Championship looking to defend her title in the women's 400 meter dash after taking first place with a 53.77 in last year's championship. She comes into the meet with the fastest time in the conference, after running a regional qualifying time of 53.77 at the Ty Terrell Relays two weeks ago. In addition to posting the fastest time in the SLC, Nwobu has run the 46th fastest time in the NCAA this season.

Junior Amanda King enters the meet as the top performer in the 3,000 meter steeple chase, with a regional qualifying time of 10:44.54, which ranks 76th in the NCAA this season. King has also posted the third fastest time in the 1,500 meter run (4:38.08) and fifth fastest in the 5,000 meter run with a 17:32.04.

Also expected to contend for the 3,000 meter steeplechase title is Sophomore Renee Graham who has posted a regional qualifying time of 10:46.27, which ranks 82nd in the NCAA. Entering the meet with times more than 25 seconds faster than any other SLC competitors, Graham and King are expected to battle for the top spot in the steeplechase.

Sophomore Clerc Koenck has run the second fastest time in the 1,500 in the conference this season, running a 4:36.98. Sonia Clark of McNeese State holds the top mark in the SLC this year, running a 4:36.12.

The women's 4 x 400 relay team enters the meet with the third fastest time in the SLC, having run the second fastest time in school history with a 3:43.04. Their time is just 1.04 seconds off of the regional qualifying mark of 3:42.00.

In the men's competition, Junior Danny Shaw enters the championship with the second fastest time in the 1,500 meter run with a 1:50.29, a second behind Jacob Cederturn of UT-Arlington.

Hamish Meacheam has posted the fourth fastest time in the 3,000 meter steeplechase this season, running a 9:23.50. He has also run the fourth best time in the 5,000 meter run in the SLC, posting a time of 15:17.19.

Lamar track has captured a total of 11 conference titles in the programs history, 10 on the men's side, and one for the women. The Cardinal men captured their first Southland Conference crown in 1971 and then picked up nine straight titles from 1978 through 1986. The Lady Cardinals championship came in 1992, when they won the Sun Belt conference title.

Competition begins Saturday at 10 a.m. with the men's 100-meter dash portion of the decathlon, followed by the women's heptathlon 100-meter hurdles at 10:30. Saturday's field events begin at 10 a.m. with the women's javelin throw being contested first. Distance runners will attempt to beat the heat with 8:30 and 9:15 p.m. starts in the women's and men's 10,000-meter runs, respectively.

Competition will resume on Sunday at 9 a.m. with the multi events, with the field resuming at 1 p.m. and preliminary running events beginning at 5 p.m. Monday's finals begin with field events at 1 p.m., followed by running event finals at 5 p.m.

For a schedule of events and live results for the SLC Outdoor Championship, click on the following link.

http://www.cfpitiming.com/