CAA STUDENT-ATHLETES SET TO COMPETE AT NCAA TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
RICHMOND,
Va. (June 7, 2011) - A talented crop of CAA student-athletes is set to compete
in the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held from June 8-11 at
Drake University's Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Six individuals and a
pair of relay squads comprise the field representing the conference at this
year's championship.
George
Mason junior David Verburg is one of
two Patriots to qualify as an individual at this year's meet. Verburg is seeded
14th in the 400 meters after securing a seventh-place finish with a time of
46.13 in the National Quarterfinals at May's NCAA East Region meet in
Bloomington, Ind. Verburg will be joined in Des Moines by classmate Lavell Handy, an automatic qualifier
who turned in a fifth-place leap of 51.08 ¼ (15.75m) in the triple jump at the
East Region Preliminary to earn the 14th seed in the National Finals.
Northeastern
freshman Eric Jenkins clocked a
3:49.18 for an eight-place showing in the 1500 meters in Bloomington and will
be seeded 23rd in the event's National Semifinal this week. William and Mary senior
Jon Grey is seeded 24th in the
National Final of the 10,000 meters after crossing the tape in 12th at the East
Region meet with a time of 29:25.03.
The
Patriots will field a pair of relay teams at this week's meet. After finishing
10th at last year's NCAA Championships, Mason's 4x400 meter relay squad of
Verburg, sophomore George Empty and
juniors Ja-Vell Bullard and Nick Vaughn recorded a sixth-place
showing with a time of 3:06.06 at the East Region Preliminary and will look to
better its finish from a year ago as the 10th seed in Des Moines. Bullard and
Vaughn will be back in action in the 4x100 meter relay with classmate Rachaunn Ruffin and freshman Adrian Vaughn. The squad is seeded 17th
in the event after combining for an 11th place showing with a time of 40.21 in
May's National Quarterfinal.
On the
women's side, Mason sophomore Mandissa
Marshall will compete as the 13th seed in the pole vault after finishing in
a five-way tie for first place with a leap of 13-1 ½ (4.00m) in the event's
National Semifinal at the East Region meet.
Georgia
State junior Angelia Nugent recorded
a distance of 41-10 ¾ (12.77m) in the triple jump and will be seeded 17th in
the National Final this week.
The NCAA
Championships will be televised on CBS both Friday and Saturday. Friday's
coverage runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. (CST) on CBS Sports Network while Saturday's
coverage will run from 12:00-2:00 p.m. on the CBS Network. The entire NCAA
Championships will stream live and include two separate streams to cover the
majority of both the track and field events. Live streaming, live results and
other information about this year's championship can be found on the official
Drake Athletics website, GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
CAA STUDENT-ATHLETE LINEUP AT 2011 NCAA
CHAMPIONSHIPS (all times CST)
4x100 Relay (Mason): National Semifinal - Wednesday,
June 8 at 5:45 p.m.
David Verburg (Mason): 400 meters National Semifinal -
Wednesday, June 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Eric Jenkins (NU): 1500 meters National Semifinal -
Thursday, June 9 at 6:00 p.m.
4x400 Relay (Mason): National Semifinal - Thursday, June
9 at 8:20 p.m.
Jon Grey (W&M): 10,000 meters National Final -
Thursday, June 9 at 8:50 p.m.
Mandissa Marshall (Mason): Pole Vault National Final - Friday,
June 10 at 5:25 p.m.
Angelia Nugent (GSU): Triple Jump National Final - Friday,
June 10 at 5:35 p.m.
Lavell Handy (Mason): Triple Jump National Final -
Saturday, June 11 at 11:05 a.m.
Complete Schedule of Events