Feb. 9, 2006
LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's track and field ends its indoor regular season this Saturday at the Albuquerque Invitational, held at the new indoor track and field facility at the Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
UNLV will be one of 13 college teams at the meet, which includes host New Mexico, No. 8 Arizona State, defending Mountain West Conference Champion BYU and Houston, which won the Conference USA women's championship last year.
Headlining the Rebel contingent at the meet will be Ashley Owens, a sophomore sprinter who transferred to UNLV this fall from LSU and is among the top sprinters in the country. Owens currently is ranked No. 9 in the country in the 60 meters with a time of 7.31, which she ran back on Jan. 28 at the Silver State Open. Her time in the 60 meters is a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Indoor Championships and is the fastest mark in the MWC this year. She also has the second-fastest 200-meter time in the conference, clocking a 24.24 at the United Heritage Invitational last weekend.
Owens is joined among the league's top five by Brittney Bullocks, who has the fifth-fastest time in the 200 meters with a 24.70. Bullocks also owns the eighth-fastest time in the 60 meters (7.72) and the ninth-best time in the 400 meters (57.15). Lekeisha Lawson also has the sixth-fastest time in the 60 meter with a time of 7.71.
Four other nationally ranked athletes according to trackwire.com are entered in Saturday's meet, including Lobo men's pole vaulter Derek Mackel (No. 6). The women's pole vault will feature No. 5 April Kubishta from Arizona State, along with the MWC's top two vaulters - Erin Asay of San Diego State and New Mexico's Whitney Johnson. The Sun Devils' Jacquelyn Johnson, who is ranked sixth in the long jump and eighth in the heptathlon, will compete in the long jump, high jump and 60-meter hurdles. BYU's Kamila Rywelska (No. 8) will compete in the triple jump.
UNLV will return to the same venue in two weeks for the MWC Indoor Championships, which will be help Feb. 23-25.
2006 Albuquerque Invitational Track & Field Meet Schedule
TIME EVENT8:30 M - Long Jump8:30 M - High Jump9:00 W - Weight Throw9:45 W - Distance Medley Relay10:00 M - Pole Vault10:05 M - Distance Medley Relay10:25 W - 5,000m10:50 M - 5,000m11:00 M - Weight Throw11:10 W - 60m Hurdles (prelims)11:25 M - 60m Hurdles (prelims)11:30 W - Long Jump11:40 W - 60m (prelims)12:00 M - 60m (prelims)12:15 National Anthem12:20 W - 60m Hurdles (finals)12:25 M - 60m Hurdles (finals)12:30 W - Shot Put12:30 W - 60m (finals)12:35 M - 60m (finals)12:40 W - Mile12:50 M - Mile1:00 M - Triple Jump1:00 W - Pole Vault1:00 W - 400m1:10 M - 400m1:20 W - 800m1:30 M - 800m1:30 W - High Jump2:30 M - Shot Put2:30 W - Triple Jump1:40 W - 200m2:10 M - 200m2:25 W - 3,000m2:45 M - 3,000m3:00 W - 4x400m Relay3:15 M - 4x400m Relay
