Huskers Set to Face 15 of Nation's Top Teams in Scored Meet

Lincoln -- The Nebraska track and field team will travel to Austin, Texas, this Friday and Saturday for the first-ever USTCA National Invitational Team Championship. The unique two-day, scored meet will feature a total of 16 of the nation's top track and field programs in what will likely be a preview of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.

Hosted in conjunction with the United States Track Coaches Association, the meet kicks off Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Mike A. Myers track complex and will continue Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.

Participating teams on the men's side include: Florida, USC, LSU, Tennessee, UCLA, Texas, South Carolina, UTEP, Texas A&M, Washington State, Cal Poly, Fresno State, Houston and Nebraska. On the women's side, teams include: Texas, LSU, UCLA, South Carolina, USC, UTEP, Kansas State, Nebraska, Houston, Cal Poly, Washington State, Fresno State, Purdue and Texas A&M. Teams were invited based upon their overall "team power ranking," a system that ranks a team's dual-meet strength.

A tape-delayed, one-hour broadcast of the USTCA National Invitational Team Championship will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest on Friday, Mary 20, at 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, May 21, at 1 p.m.

Several Huskers rank among the nation's elite
Husker junior Melissa Price was bumped from the top spot in the hammer throw last weekend by SMU's Florence Ezeh, who posted a mark of 212-5 at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas. Price's mark still ranks second with her NCAA automatic qualifying toss of 210-7 at the College Station Relays on March 18. The mark was just short of her school-record throw of 213-1 on May 12, 1999 - the best throw by a collegian in 1999. The winning mark at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships was 207-2.

Jessica Thompson, a Husker junior, is tied with Houston's Ifoma Jones and Georgia's Latifah Long for the third best jump in the country this season. Thompson cleared 6-0 at the Husker Open on April 8. Texas' Erin Aldrich leads the nation with her mark of 6-4 3/4, recorded at the Texas Relays last weekend. Thompson, a 2000 indoor All-American finished ahead of Aldrich at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

In the javelin, senior Cassi Morelock owns the fourth best throw this season with an NCAA automatic qualifying heave of 174-7 recorded at the quadrangular with LSU, UNC and USC on April 1. UTEP's Angeliki Tsiolakoudi, a freshman, leads the nation with a mark 188-3.

Nebraska junior Chris Chandler currently sits at No. 5 in the nation in the 100 meters with his school-record mark of 10.16. Chandler, who also broke the Cromwell Field record in the event, recorded the mark at a quadrangular with LSU, North Carolina and USC in Los Angeles on April 1. In his first outdoor meet of the season, Chandler, who automatically qualified for the NCAA meet, shattered the Husker school record of 10.25, set by Riley Washington in 1994. Chandler won the 200 meters at the USA Indoor Championships on March 5.

Senior jumper Dalhia Ingram is ranked among the nation's best in two events. Ingram sits at No. 5 in the triple jump (43-3 1/4) and at No. 8 in the long jump (20-9). Kirsten Bolm of BYU leads the nation in the triple jump (21-6), while LSU's Keisha Spencer owns the best long jump at 46-1 1/2.

Other Huskers to crack the top 10 nationally include senior thrower Cory Lehman, who sits in the No. 6 spot in the javelin with a toss of 233-8 (April 1). Junior Carrie Braness sits in sixth in the high jump with a mark of 5-11 1/2, while freshman Eric Eshbach, claimed the No. 7 spot in the pole vault with a mark of 17-8 1/2.