Track and Field Preview
12/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field/XC
Men's Outlook
One season after finishing third and fourth, respectively, at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships, the men’s track & field team looks to move up in the conference standings, and build on its post-season experience. The Mean Green return nine all-conference performers, seven qualifiers to the NCAA Midwest Regional and one National Championship finalist. Six of the regional qualifiers were named to the All-Midwest Regional team, giving head coach Rick Watkins reason to be excited about 2009.
Toby Edwards returns for his senior season after advancing to the NCAA Championships in 2008, where he finished in 18th place in the High Jump. Edwards, who holds the outdoor school record at 7’ ", has an individual conference championship on his resume (Indoor title in 2007) to go along with his four individual all-conference awards. Sophomore Jermaine Jamison gives North Texas a 1-2 punch, after claiming the outdoor conference High Jump title and claiming All-Midwest Region honors last season as a freshman. Jamison finished seventh at the Midwest Regional, narrowly missing a trip to the NCAA Championships himself. Jamison could also see duty in the Horizontal Jumps as well in 2009.
Joining Edwards and Jamison in the field events is a strong contingent of Multi-Event athletes that gives the Mean Green a lot depth, and a lot of options. Seniors Andrew Turner and Josh Papagno, along with sophomore Jordan Wehr, are returning scorers in the Decathlon, but will also be looked upon in some of their individual event specialties as well. Papagno has three all-conference awards in the Pole Vault, and will be in the hunt for a title in that event as well. Turner will also challenge in the High Jump, and Wehr could score in both the 110 Hurdles and the Pole Vault.
The Sprints and Relay events will continue to be a strong area for North Texas Track & Field. The 4 X 400 Relay has become a signature event for the Mean Green, having finished in the top three at the outdoor championship every year since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2000. This year could be even better, with six individuals returning who contributed to a stellar 2008 season: (Brandon Irabor, Sr.; Darnell Greig, So.; Ryan Varner, Sr.; Montrell Pyron, So.; Reggie Hayter, So., and Justin Flowers, So.). After finishing second at the Prestigous Texas Relays, the 4X400 relay team claimed the conference title and ran to an eighth place finish at the Midwest Regionals. Brandon Irabor, who has seven all-conference awards and has made three trips to the NCAA Regional during his career, returns after battling injuries the past two seasons, and looks forward to a healthy 2009. Add in newcomers Keith Talley (Fr., Round Rock McNeil) and CJ Fowler (Fr., Waxahachie) and the Mean Green feels pretty good about their chances at any relay event.
In 2008, Varner finished second in the 200 meters at the conference meet, and has been an NCAA qualifier in that event three times. Greig and Pyron were finalists in the 400 meters, with Hayter expected to provide big results in the 800. Newcomer Terry McGill (Fr., Garland, TX) will add strength in the Hurdle events, as well.
Brock Stickler, after finishing as the second leading receiver on the football team, will look to finish his career with Track & Field awards as well. After finishing fourth at last year’s conference meet in the discus, Stickler will look to move up in the conference standings. As one of the top prep Discus Throwers in the country as a high school senior, Stickler will have an opportunity to challenge for an NCAA Qualifiying mark as well. He will have the benefit of his first full track season, having completed his eligibility and obligations with the football program.
The distance events should get a boost with a healthy Patrick Strong in action this Spring. Strong, a two-time All-conference performer in Cross-Country, returns after red-shirting the Indoor and Outdoor season last year due to injury. Billy Giano looks to finish out his career on top, after finishing second in the 1500 at last spring’s Conference Championship. Juniors Matt Peters, and Brandon Cooper, andsophomore Andrew Sumner will add much needed points in the mid-distance events. Newcomers Sage Garrett (transfer, Dallas Baptist), and Josue Nunez should add depth in the Steepelchase, and distance events as well.
The Mean Green will begin its Indoor season on January 16-17, 2009 at Texas Tech, and will conclude with the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships in Jonesboro, AR on Feb 28-Mar 1, and at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 14-15 in College Station, TX. North Texas will host one outdoor competition on April 30, 2009, and will conclude with the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships in Murfreesboro, TN on May 8-1, 2009. The NCAA Midwest Regional will be May 29-30, 2009 in Norman, OK. The NCAA Championships are June 10-13, 2009 in Fayetteville, AR.
Women’s Outlook
The Mean Green women’s track and field team will head into the 2009 season looking to continue its dominance as one of the top track programs in the Sun Belt Conference and take the program to the national level.
North Texas has become a fixture among the top teams in the Sun Belt Conference, having only finished outside of the top 3 at the conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships once since 2002 (fourth at the 2007 SBC Indoor Championship), claiming two championships and six runner-up trophies along the way.
They also have had a taste of post-season success, and are hungry for more in 2009. Ciara Smith (Jr.), Lauren Wiggins (Jr.) and Brandi Stanfield (Sr.) all return with NCAA Championships experience. Smith made the trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships last spring, while Wiggins represented the Mean Green at the Indoors championships at Fayetteville, AR. Stanfield competed in both the 2006 Indoor and Outdoor National Championships, being named an All-American after the 2006 Indoor season. All three look to make a return trip this spring and take some more of their teammates with them. In all, North Texas returns seven female student-athletes who competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional in 2008, with five being named to the All-Region team.
Ciara Smith returns looking to improve upon a 2008 season in which she became the first-ever runner in North Texas history to advance to the NCAA Championships 400-meter dash. She was also a member of the 4X400 team that set the school record at the Midwest Regional and was named to the all-region team in both the 400-meters and 4X400-meter relay. Smith was an all-conference member in both the indoor (4X400) and outdoor (400, 4X400) seasons and set the school record during the indoor season in the 400-meters at the Texas Tech Open with a time of 55.13.
Another standout returning for her senior season is Lauren Wiggins. An all-conference performer in both the indoor (55H, 55) and outdoor (100,4X100) seasons, Wiggins was named to the all-region team in the outdoor 4X100 and set the school record at the SBC Championships in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.72 in the prelims. She won the 55-meter hurdles at the SBC Championships with a time of 7.74 and took first place at the Texas Tech Open in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.95. She now also holds the school record in the outdoor 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.25 at the Tyson Invite. Wiggins began the season by placing third at the SBC Indoor Championships in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.86.
Also returning is senior standout Alana Tyler. She was an all-conference performer in both the indoor (WT) and outdoor (HT) seasons and finished third at the indoor SBC Championships in the weight throw with a distance of 56-01.25 Tyler also finished third in the outdoor SBC Championships in the hammer throw with a distance of 178-04, a new school record.
In all, the Mean Green will be returning eight seniors, all of which have made a major impact in the record books. Brandi Stanfield, an All-American, had a superb 2008 season in which she received all-conference honors during the indoor season in the triple jump and was second place at the SBC Championships in the triple jump with a leap of 41-02.50.
One of the most unexpected performers of 2008 was walk-on Alysha Adams. Showing her versatility, she earned all-conference honors in the Heptathlon, 4X100 relay and was the conference champion in the 100 hurdles. During the indoor and outdoor conference championships, she was awarded Freshman of the Year honors.
Chrystal Mitchell is another one of those seniors and she earned all-conference honors in both the indoor and outdoor 4X400. She was named to the all-region team and part of the 4X400 relay team that set the school record with a time of 3:37.18 at the Midwest Regionals.
The Mean Green is also looking forward to incorporating this year’s crop of six freshmen. Monica Dunn, who was a state champion at DeSoto High School, is being looked at as a key member of the women’s 4X400 team. Other freshmen include Amy Alcala, Sara Dietz, Elizabeth Dominguez and Janesa Moore.
After competing for the Mean Green cross country squad during the fall season, Alcala, Dietz, Sallie Anderson, Amanda Kean, Phanice Orora and Tara Piles will switch over to the track and compete for North Texas in the distance events. Dietz was the top North Texas women’s finisher in all four of the meets in 2008 and was named Freshman of the Year after her 10th-place finish at the SBC Championships in November.
North Texas will begin its indoor season January 24, at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Following trips to Norman and Jonesboro, the Mean Green will head to College Station, Texas, Mar. 13 to compete at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships. The 2008 outdoor season sees North Texas hosting one meet at Fouts Field and the 2008 SBC Outdoor Championship, May 8-10 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.