Track and Field Hosts Cardinal Twilight on Friday
May 13, 2009 | Men's Track and Field
May 13, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's and women's track and field teams will return to action for the second of three meets at Cardinal Park Soccer and Track Stadium when they host the Cardinal Twilight on Friday, May 15. It will mark their last attempt to earn and improve regional bids for the 2009 Mideast Regional Championships.
Louisville has 38 athletes entered in the competition which features the likes of Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, nationally ranked Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky. The second annual Cardinal Twilight will commence at 10 a.m. ET, with the throwing events and will be followed by the jumps at 11:45 a.m. ET. The meet will conclude with the running events which begin at 6 p.m. ET.
"We are extremely excited and looking forward to hosting what should be another great meet," said U of L head coach Ron Mann. "The quality of competition this event has attracted is a tribute to its growth and we hope to compete well in our final outing before regionals in two weeks."
U of L has earned a school record 35 NCAA Mideast Regional bids so far this season, including 19 by the women and 16 from the men. Junior Jere' Summers and sophomore D'Ana McCarty lead all athletes with three regional bids apiece in the shot put, discus and hammer. Summers mark in the hammer throw is currently 11th in the nation. The Cardinal women have two nods each from senior Seidre Forde (triple jump, long jump), junior Rachel Gehret (high jump, long jump), junior Tarah McKay (1,500m, 5,000m) and sophomore Chinwe Okoro (shot put, discus). Forde and Gehret own the nation's 10th and 11th best marks in the triple jump and high jump, respectively.
Rounding out the list of qualifiers on the women's side are senior Heather Trimiew (400m hurdles), juniors Lindsey Cook (hammer), Amaka Omenyinma (long jump) and Saravia Richardson (100m); and freshman Khadija Abdullah (shot put).
On the men's side, the Cards have two bids apiece from senior Rudon Bastian (long jump, triple jump), redshirt junior Tone Belt (high jump, long jump), senior Andrew Hackney (hammer, discus) and senior Steven Hnat (shot put, discus). Bastian owns the country's sixth best triple jump mark, while senior Cory Thorne currently holds the nation's second fastest time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Others that have earned regional marks include senior Michael Johnson, Jr. (triple jump), junior Scott McClain (3,000m Steeplechase), sophomores Weston Banks (shot put), Phil Feinberg (high jump), Josh Greenwald (discus) and Matt Hughes (3,000m Steeplechase); and freshman Wesley Smith (long jump).
The Cardinal women won their second consecutive conference team title at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships on May 1-3, while the men finished in second behind Notre Dame by half a point. Overall, the Cards won 10 event titles, 21 medals, set three school records and earned 29 NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying marks on the weekend.
Leading the efforts on the women's side was Summers who was named the women's Most Outstanding Field Performer for the second consecutive year after winning both the shot put and hammer.
Forde won her second triple jump title, while Gehret set a personal best and matched the school record en route to her win in the long jump.
U of L also earned the 2009 BIG EAST Women's Coaching Staff of the Year for the second straight season.
The Cardinal men were led by Thorne, who was named the men's Most Outstanding Track Performer following wins in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run; and Belt, who was named the men's Most Outstanding Field Performer after placing first in the long jump and high jump.
Also winning individual titles was Hnat with personal and school record throw in the shot put and sophomore Josh Greenwald in the discus.
The Cards will have a week off to prepare for the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on May 29-30 which will be hosted by Louisville for the first-time ever. The regional is one of four qualifying events for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships that will be held on June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Ark. and in particular the Mideast Region consistently features one of the deepest fields of nationally ranked athletes and teams from over 78 schools that span 12 different states.
Players Mentioned
