Shareese Woods was the A-10's Indoor Track Women's Most Oustanding Track Performer |
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49ers Track & Field Teams Ready for 2006 Atlantic 10 Championships This Weekend
May 4, 2006
Charlotte, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers track & field teams will compete in their first-ever Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend, when the Niners host the league's title meet Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7 at Irwin Belk Track & Field Center.
It is the first time that Charlotte has hosted an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship event. Tickets are available for the two-day meet by calling the 49ers Ticket Office at 704-687-4949.
Along with Atlantic 10 Conference Championships, NCAA East Region Championship qualifications will be on the line this weekend. Unlike indoor track, where only meeting pre-set qualification standards can get an athlete entry into the NCAA Championships, the winners of each event at the conference championships will receive a berth into the Regional Championships (held May 26-27 in Greensboro).
The 49ers are excited to have the meet at home, rather than traveling to an unfamiliar site for the competition. Charlotte won both the men's and women's A-10 Indoor Track titles this winter in Rhode Island.
"It's definitely exciting to have the meet at home," junior sprinter Shareese Woods said Wednesday afternoon. "We know the facility better than the other teams, and many of our families can make the trip here to see us."
Echoing those sentiments while talking to the Charlotte Observer was 2005 indoor All-American Cassie Ficken, who will compete in her final league championships as a senior this weekend. "You sleep in your own bed, you eat your own food instead of going out," she said. "You have the home crowd. You have family and friends there, plus we have a wonderful facility. We can show it off."
While capturing those men's and women's indoor team championships, Charlotte student-athletes captured six individual championships, including five on the women's side alone, and added three relay titles.
In all, Charlotte brought home a total of 30 all-conference awards - 15 for the women and 15 for the men. Additionally, five women and five men earned medals for third-place finishes. There were two Atlantic 10 Championship meet records and three school records established.
Shareese Woods was the A-10's Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer, while Robert Olesen was voted Coach of the Year on both the men's and women's sides.
Charlotte student-athletes are at or near the top of many events in the final Atlantic 10 Conference rankings heading into the Championships. (See full A-10 performance lists heading into Championships weekend).
The A-10 Performance lists are used to seed the participants for the Championship meet, and give athletes, coaches and fans some idea of what to expect performance-wise this weekend.
WOMEN
The 49ers have captured at least a share of the A-10's Women's Performer of the Week award in five of six weeks that they competed this outdoor season. Sharonda Johnson and Courtney Patterson each earned Co-Performer of the Week awards twice, while Shareese Woods captured one outright Performer of the Week and two Co-Performer awards.
Lamarra Currie and Pat Springs (twice) have also earned Rookie of the Week awards during outdoor season for the women's team.
All three of the 49ers' Performance of the Week winners will be among the favorites in their respective events. Courtney Patterson has the league's top 100-meter dash time this season and is ranked second in the 200 behind teammate Shareese Woods. Woods also adds the A-10's top 400-meter time, making her a dual gold medal threat. Sharonda Johnson leads the A-10 in the triple jump and also has a top-10 mark in the high jump.
Both Woods and Patterson run on the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay teams, two more events that Charlotte leads in the A-10 rankings.
Senior Cassie Ficken heads the A-10 in the 1,500 this year, and is second in both the 5,000 and 10,000. She won boot the 1,500 and mile runs during indoor season. Meanwhile, Tsehaye Dagnachew is the top 3,000-meter steeplechase runner.
Pat Springs is second in the league in the long jump, and posts one of the A-10's top 110-meter hurdles times. Lamarra Currie, the other 49er to win a Rookie of the Week award, is third in the 100 and fifth in the 200 heading into the weekend.
The 49ers had to make some tough decisions regarding which student-athletes to enter in the sprint events. In the 100 and 200 especially, Charlotte student-athletes posted six and seven of the top 10 marks this season, respectively. However, each team is only allowed three entries into each event.
MEN
Senior Ben McCallum and sophomore Jason Moore have been linked with one another all season long, and that doesn't figure to change this weekend. The duo have each qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and are 1-2 on the Atlantic 10 lists heading into the weekend. They also both run on Charlotte's league-leading 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams.
McCallum and Moore have won outright or shared Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Performer of the Week awards in five of the six weeks that the 49ers have competed this outdoor season.
Four other 49ers men's competitors lead their respective events heading into the weekend. Ryan Keziah posts the season's top time in the 110-meter high hurdles, and will be pushed by teammate and No. 2-ranked Montray Gilchrist. James Bacon is the A-10 leader in the 400 meter dash, while Eli Sunquist heads the triple jump list. Kevin Ryan is the league's top decathlete heading into the championships.
LaMarcus Outing, the A-10 long jump champion during indoor season, heads into the weekend with the season's second-best performance league-wide.
Several other 49ers men's team members have chances for gold medals or all-conference recognition. Riaan Lourens is ranked third in the 800-meter run, and indoor 800 runner-up Chase Eckard is close behind. Russell Slade, the indoor mile runner-up, is ranked third in the 1,500. Sean Patterson is third in the triple jump, while freshman Caleb Henley posts the league's second-best pole vault height. Charlotte's 4x800-meter relay team enters the meet ranked third.
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