Spartans Send 17 To NCAA Regional Meet
5/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 23, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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The Michigan State track and field team travels to the NCAA Mideast Regional Meet, hosted by the University of Missouri. The two-day event will be held at the Audrey J. Walton Stadium in Columbia, Mo., May 25-26 and will feature athletes looking to gain entry into the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled to be held in Sacramento, Calif., June 6-9.
Michigan State will send 17 athletes to compete in 14 different events, plus the women's 4x100m relay team. Freshman Ian Boyle (800m,1500m), junior Jackie Walton (100m hurdles, 4x100m) and senior Erica Bailey (shot, hammer) lead the way with two events each. Taren James enters the competition with the most experience for the Green and White. The senior has competed in every Mideast Regional Meet since 2004.
The Mideast region is one of four track and field NCAA regions and consists of Division I universities in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. The other three regions include the East (Florida), Midwest (Drake) and West (Oregon). The Mideast Region houses many of the schools from the very competitive SEC and Big Ten Conferences.
The top-five finishers in the individual events and the top three relay teams automatically advance to the NCAA Championship meet. After all of the automatic qualifiers have been identified, the committee will place the next seven finishers, based on regional finish, in each event into the national at-large pool. The at-large athletes are then ranked in order of their best performance of the year, including the regional meet, and the committee will begin filling the remaining open spots from the top of the at-large list until the maximum number of 544 competitors from each gender is reached.
The regional championships are all team-scored meets, with the scoring in each event breaking down as follows - first, 10 points; second, eight points; third, six points; fourth, five points; fifth, four points; sixth, three points; seventh, two points and eighth, one point. At the conclusion of the meet, the teams with the two highest point totals will be recognized.
Spartan Rewind
Last year at the NCAA Regionals, the Spartans sent 16 athletes to the competition. Nicole Bush, who had only began competing in the event the year before, finished the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 10:16.29 for a fourth-place finish. Brad Gebauer claimed first place in the pole vault with a leap of 5.31 meters (17-5) and Jeremy Orr finished in fifth-place in the 400 meters with a time of 46.24. Bush, Gebauer and Orr advanced to the NCAA Championships.
Spartans To Watch
John Childress
Senior John Childress earned his second NCAA-regional qualifying time of his career when he posted a 14.02 at the EMU Invitational (4/21) in the 110m hurdles. The senior hurdler finished in fourth place at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships (5/13) with a personal-best time of 14.01. Last season, Childress also earned a bid to the regional meet. He placed 17th with a time of 14.18.
Mark Langlois
The 2007 Big Ten Indoor Pole Vault Champion Mark Langlois hopes to improve on his finish at the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. At the conference meet, the senior came in fourth place as he cleared 5.05 meters (16-6 3/4). Last year Langlois competed in the NCAA Mideast Regional and tied for seventh place with a jump of 4.91 meters (16-1 1/4).
Ian Boyle
Freshman Ian Boyle is one of three Spartans to compete in two events at this year's Mideast Regionals. Boyle will run in the 800m and 1,500m run after qualifying for both during the season. At the Big Ten Championships (5/13), the freshman posted a 12th-place finish in the 800m (1:52.34) and was 11th in the 1500m (3:55.37).
Erica Bailey
Senior Erica Bailey will participate in two events this weekend at the Regional Meet. Competing in her first NCAA Regional competition, she will take part in the shot put and hammer throw events. At the recent Big Ten Championships, she posted a 15.20-meter (49-10 1/2) throw in the shot put for fourth place and had a toss of 48.88 meters (160-4) for an 11th-place finish in the hammer.
Nicole Bush
2007 Second Team All-Big Ten honoree Nicole Bush qualified in three events (1,500m, 5,000m and the 3,000m steeplechase) during the regular season, but will only compete in the 3,000m steeplechase. Last year at the NCAA Regional Meet, the junior came in fourth place with a time of 10:16.29 in the same race, earning her a spot at the NCAA Championships.
Taren James
2006 Big Ten Triple Jump Champion Taren James hopes to have her best performance in her last NCAA Regional Meet. The senior missed the national meet last year by one spotm as she finished sixth in the her event. At this year's Big Ten Meet, James posted had her best jump of the season with a 12.62-meter (41-5) leap.
Players Mentioned
