April 10, 2008
Las Vegas - UNLV looks to the UCLA Invitational in Los Angeles at Drake Stadium as a chance to step it up to a higher level as the competition will be tough with teams such as top-ranked Texas A&M, No. 20 Washington State, Utah State, UC San Diego, Azusa Pacific and Cal Poly will be among the expected participants.
After strong results last week for the distance runners, UNLV looks to duplicate those results this weekend in the Golden State. Charlotte Browning achieved the fourth-fastest time in the 1,500 meters in UNLV history with a time of 4:28.53 at the Stanford Invitational. Browning's time was also just .73 off the NCAA regional qualifying time. Jennifer Shearer's time of 17:23.45 in the 5,000 meters at the Pomona Pitzer Invitational was the third-best time in Rebel history.
"I am pleased that the distance runners are performing so well this early. It could mean big things for the end of the season," says distance coach Tony Houchin.
With the standout performance last week, the focus shifts back to the competition this week.
"Competing at UCLA will be a great experience for our women to compete at higher level and go against some of the better track and field athletes on the West Coast. It is also an opportunity for each of them to work on specific elements of their events against strong competition to get prepared for our MWC Championships in Fort Worth," says head coach Yvonne Scott-Williams.
Expect to see student-athletes such as Lekeisha Lawson and Lauren Johnson in the 100 and 200 meters, De'Lace Kelly will be participating in the high jump and Shearer will be in the 1500. Also, watch for a strong performance from the 4X100 meter relay team.
"I expect improved performances from all of our event groups and I am hoping that some regional marks might be achieved this weekend," says Scott-Williams.
The competition begins on Thursday with the men's 100 meter decathlon at 9:45 a.m. (PT) and ends with the men's hammer at 4:30 p.m. Friday's events start at 9:00 a.m. with the men's 110 meter hurdle decathlon and ends with the men's 10000 meter at 10:25 p.m. The final day of competition is Saturday beginning with men's high jump at 10:45 a.m. and ends with the men's 1600 meter relay at 2:55 p.m.
