May 9, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's track and field team begins postseason competition on Thursday, traveling to the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships, held at the Clarence F. Robison Track in Provo, Utah, from May 10-13.

The meet actually gets underway Wednesday with the heptathlon and decathlon but there are no Rebels competing in those events. Thursday is the completion of the heptathlon and decathlon and Friday is the first full day of competition with the women's hammer throw being the first event of the day and the meet continues through Saturday.

UNLV head coach Barbara Ferrell-Edmonson will be sending 17 athletes to the championships and a pair of sprinters represents the Rebels' strongest chance at top-three finishes.

Lauren Johnson and Lekeisha Lawson each have two top-10 time in the 100 and 200 meters, with Johnson owning the fourth-fastest time in the MWC in the 200 (24.04) and the sixth-fastest time in the 100 (11.84). Lawson meanwhile has the fourth-fastest time in the 100 (11.79) and the ninth-best mark in the 200 (24.64) and she is just four-hundredths of a second from reaching the regional qualifying time in the 100.

Those two also run legs on UNLV's 4x100 meter relay team, which has run the second-fastest time in the MWC this year with a 45.67, which has qualified the squad for regionals. The 4x400 relay squad has the fifth-best mark with a time of 3:50.20.

Tanesha Carr also has posted a top-10 in the conference this year, running a 12.22 in the 100 meters for the 10th-best time in the league this year.

Fans can get the full list of women student-athletes at the meet by clicking here.

For full coverage of the meet click here.