Prestigious Texas Relays, Indiana Relays Up Next for Cardinals
April 05, 2007 | Track & Field
April 4, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The nationally ranked University of Louisville track and field program returns to action this week with athletes competing at a pair of meets, including the highly competitive Texas Relays on Thursday through Saturday in Austin, Texas, and the competitive Indiana Relays on Friday and Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.
"We will have a group of our elite level athletes competing at the prestigious Texas Relays," said U of L head coach Ron Mann. "The men's high jump competition in Texas should be an extraordinary event, and we're looking for some great things in the hurdles. We'll also send a strong group of athletes to IU with the hopes of earning even more BIG EAST level performances."
Entering this weekend, the Cardinals have a total of 67 qualifiers for next month's BIG EAST Outdoor Championships in Storrs, Conn., including 38 for the men and 29 for the women. U of L also has 15 qualifiers (nine men, six women) for the NCAA Mideast Regional, just two less than last year's school record total of 17.
Last weekend, with athletes competing at three events around that nation, the Cards added six new regional qualifiers, won three event titles and set three school records. Leading the way for the Cardinal men, ranked 13th in this week's Trackwire Outdoor Top 25, were distance runners Wesley Korir and Cory Thorne, who each earned NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying times in the 5,000-meter run at the Stanford Invitational. Korir was eighth in the Section 1 final with a school record time of 13:50.64, while Thorne was fifth in the Section 2 final with a personal best mark of 14:07.88.
On the women's side, sophomore jumper Seidre Forde and freshman sprinter Elisabeth Slettum led the way with regional qualifying marks in the triple jump and 200m respectively at the LSU Tiger Classic. Forde was second overall in the triple with a school record mark of 40-08.75, while Slettum was eighth in the 200m with a school record time of 23.78.
Also adding regional qualifying marks last weekend were sophomore jumpers Tone Belt and Andre Black at the LSU. Belt won the high jump with a mark of 7-00.25, while Black won the triple jump with a mark of 51-04.50. U of L also had athletes competing at the Missouri Relays in Columbia, Mo., site of the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional on May 25-26.
Following this week's events, the Cards will have athletes next weekend at the University of Tennessee's Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville as well as the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.
Players Mentioned
