Outdoor Track & Field Release #4

April 18, 2006

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Horizon League Men's Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week

Nick Gazis

UIC, Sr.,  Skokie, Ill.

Gazis earned a spot in the NCAA Regional Championships on Saturday with his school record performance in the discus at the Sea Ray Relays hosted by the University of Tennessee. Gazis placed third in the meet, which featured some of the top collegiate performers in the nation. His toss of 54.96m shattered his own school record and automatically qualified him for the NCAA Regional Championships, May 26-27, in Knoxville, Tenn.

Horizon League Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week

Krista Switzer

Detroit, Jr., Windsor, Ontario

Switzer broke her own school and Horizon League record in the javelin with a throw of 129 feet 7 inches (39.51 meters) at the Long Beach Invitational. She finished fourth in the competition. She also finished 12th in the discus competition with a throw of 86 feet five inches (26.35 meters).

Other Top Performances

Trentin Edwards

UW-Milwaukee, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.

Edwards ran a time of 10.69 in the 100m to lead the Panthers at the Sea Ray Relays. The junior's time is second in school history, missing the school record by 0.24 seconds, and put him 29th in the event. He also ran with the third-best 4x100m relay in school history, helping the group to a time of 42.44.

Zack Bolton

Detroit, Jr., Belding, Mich.

Bolton finished fifth in the 3000 m steeplechase at Long Beach Invite with a time of 9:52.22. That time set a new personal record and is the sixth best time by a Titan all-time.

Alex Hains

Butler, Jr. Cardiff, Wales

Hains ran to a second place finish in 14:49 at an elite gathering of 5000m runners at Butler's Indy Relays.

Edmund Blankson

Loyola, So., Glen Carbon, Ill.

Blankson set a new school record last week after placing second in the 400-meter dash at the Mt. SAC Relays with a time of 47.38, which bettered the previous school mark by .14 seconds and is the top time in the Horizon League. He added a fourth-place finish the next day in the 100m at the Long Beach State Invitational at a time of 10.93.

Jarrod Davis

Youngstown State,Sr, East Canton, Ohio

Davis placed 14th in the discus at the Sea Ray Relays with a personal-best throw of 158-2. He currently ranks second in YSU history in the discus.

Bethany Anderson

Youngstown State, So.,, Jamestown, N.Y.

 Anderson broke her own school record in the hammer with a mark of 175-1 to place fourth at the Sea Ray Relays. She added a 22nd-place mark of 43-4 ½.

Sara O'Mara

UIC, Sr., Hinsdale, Ill.

For the second straight week, senior O'Mara broke her own school record in the hammer throw en route to a first-place finish in the event at the Indy Relays on Saturday. O'Mara's heave of 48.62 meters bettered her previous school-record distance of 48.31m set last weekend at the Chicagoland Championships in Naperville, Ill. The senior also placed seventh in the shot put (11.99m) and 10th in the discus (32.82m) on Saturday.

Tenia Fisher

UW-Milwaukee, Sr., Milwaukee, Wis.

Fisher competed in the 400m for the Panthers at the Sea Ray Relays and led off the team's 4x800m relay. In the 400m, she ran a time of 56.04 in taking 24th. She shaved 0.54 seconds off her personal-best time, which already ranks second in school history. The relay placed 12th, with the fifth-best time in school history of 9:22.57.

Casanav Simmons

Wright State, So., Columbus, Ohio           

Simmons finished first in the 200 and 400-meter dashes on Saturday at the Ohio Invitational in times of 26.30 and 56.80, respectively.

Katie Stuckey

Butler,  Sr. Vincennes, Ind.

Stuckey finished third in the steeplechase at the highly competitive Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, securing a regional bid with her time of 10:48.

Marcia Faustin

Loyola, Jr., Orland Park, Ill.

Faustin posted a season-best leap of 5-7 in the high jump to capture first-place honors at the Long Beach State Invitational. The jump is also the best in the Horizon League this season. In addition to her high jump crown, she finished fourth in the 200-meter dash at LBSU with a season-best time of 25.56.

Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, April 22

UIC @ Illinois Open (Champaign, Ill.)- All Day

Detroit @ Central Collegiate (Ypsilanti, Mich.)- All Day

UW-Milwaukee @ Illinois Benedictine Invitational (Lisle, Ill.)- 10 a.m.

Butler @ Oregon Invitational (Eugene, Oregon)- All Day

Butler @ Wabash Invitational- All Day

Youngstown State @ Akron Quad Meet (Akron, Ohio)- All Day

(W) Wright State @ Wilmington Invitational (Wilmington, Ohio)- All Day