Syracuse Sets Sights on BIG EAST Title

BIG EAST Championship Central
BIGEAST.tv

Men's Results
Women's Results

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse men and women’s track & field teams commence the 2008 outdoor championship season on Friday, May 2 at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship, hosted by Villanova at Jumbo Elliot Track. The Orange will feature 44 student-athletes competing in 20 different events during the three-day event.

“The BIG EAST Championship gives us the opportunity to showcase everything we’ve worked for against the country’s top athletes in one of the nation’s top conferences,” said third-year Syracuse head coach Chris Fox. “We’ve had a tremendous outdoor season to this point and we’re looking forward to finishing strong down the stretch.”

The Orange takes flight for the City of Brotherly Love, bringing with it five BIG EAST Champions and six all-conference performers. Graduate Aulton Kohn (200m), senior Jillian Drouin (heptathlon), senior Ramon Sosa (110m hurdles) and junior Mike LeBlanc (100m) will be looking to defend their reign as event champions from 2007.

The 2008 BIG EAST Outdoor Championship will be video streamed live on BIGEAST.tv. The coverage begins on Friday at 11:00 a.m. with the men's 100m dash as part of the decathlon.

Sprints

In addition to Kohn and LeBlanc, junior Bernard Bush and rookie Shamel Lewis will compete in the 100m dash. Bush posted a time of 11.02 seconds in his only event appearance of the season at the Spec Towns Invitational, while Lewis owns a career-best time of 10.96, established at the Larry Ellis Invitational.

Kohn, who will also defend his title in the 200m dash, has claimed the Orange’s top time this season, posting a performance of 10.55 seconds in his outdoor debut at the Raleigh Relays. A 2007 All-American after a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championship, LeBlanc will make his outdoor debut following rehabilitation from a minor injury.

On the women’s side, rookies Lareea Chisholm and Flings Owusu-Agyapong will compete in the 100m dash. Chisholm, who will also compete in the 200m dash, tallied the program’s top time with a performance of 11.91 seconds at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Owusu-Agyapong has posted tallies of 11.93, 11.94 and 11.97 seconds thus far in 2008.

Hurdles

Sosa will look to defend his 110m hurdles title from the 2007 championship alongside teammate Terry Marshall. Marshall owns the unit’s top time in the event, qualifying for the NCAA Regional with a time of 13.99 seconds at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Sosa also claimed an invite to the regional with a performance of 14.16 seconds at last weekend’s Big Red Invitational.

Marshall will also compete in the 400m hurdles with junior Skyy Simmons. Simmons owns the team’s top time in the event with a performance of 52.60 seconds at the Larry Ellis Invitational.

On the women’s side, junior Lauren McClenney will compete in the 400m hurdles. She has posted a season-best time of 1:03.34 at the Big Red Invitational. Senior Keisha Townsend will compete in the 100m hurdles after tallying a time of 14.36 seconds at the Larry Ellis Invitational.

Distance

The Orange’s distance lineup for the conference championship is headlined by four NCAA Regional qualifiers in sophomore Dan Busby (5000m), graduate Jordan Davis (1500m), senior Kyle Heath (3000m steeplechase) and junior Jeff Scull (5000m).

Busby and Scull headline the Orange’s 5000m attack with regional-qualifying times of 14:09 and 14:02, respectively. They are joined by Heath and sophomore Brad Miller. Busby and Scull, along with sophomore Jay Koloseus, will also compete in the 10,000m run.

Heath’s school-record and NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 8:48.60 in the 3000m steeplechase paces an SU lineup featuring sophomore Curtis Bixler and rookie Michael Brocks. Davis is the lone member of the Orange to line up in the 1500m run. Davis owns the program’s top time with an NCAA Regional-qualifying performance of 3:45.11 at the Stanford Invitational.

On the women’s side, senior Nana Sang-Bender is joined by rookie Liz McCarter in the 1500m run. Sang-Bender posted a time of 4:31.44 and McCarter added a performance of 4:38.37 at the Larry Ellis Invitational.

Senior Liz Cufari, sophomore Maegan Krifchin and freshman Catherine DeSarle complete the Orange’s 5000m run lineup. Krifchin owns the charges’ top time this season with a tally of 16:55.27 at last weekend’s Penn Relays. DeSarle and Cufari posted their top times of 17:20.07 and 17:29.22, respectively, at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Cufari will also compete in the 10,000m run.

Sophomore Lynne Mundy’s season-best time of 10:56.53 at the Big Red Invitational leads the Syracuse women in the 3000m steeplechase. Senior Meghan Rowcliffe (10:58.07), sophomore Stefanie Slekis (11:03.50) and senior Jillian Kosinski (11:24.29) join Mundy.

Field

Drouin headlines the Syracuse mutli-events attack following an All-America and third-place performance in the heptathlon at last season’s NCAA Outdoor Championship. She’s joined by classmate Kaity Lambracht and sophomore Uhunoma Osazuwa. Drouin, who will also compete in the high jump as the school’s record holder (1.87m), owns the team’s top performance in 2008 with 5,445 points at the Bulldog Heptathlon. Lambracht (5,240) and Osazuwa (5,096) rank second and third, respectively.

Osazuwa joins Drouin, sophomore Annabelle Pellerin and sophomore Melissa Romero in the high jump. Pellerin qualified for the NCAA Regional with a leap of 1.75m at the Big Red Invitational.

Junior Mike Chitro (6,330) and sophomore Jon Buice (6,283) lead the Orange men’s attack in the decathlon. Chitro finished third and Buice placed fourth at the Bulldog Decathlon. Senior Terry Barresi and rookie Evan Stivala will also compete in the decathlon.

Graduate Sheron Mark was crowned the triple jump champion in 2005 and has three all-conference performances to her credit. She will be joined by sophomore Kayla Carter in the triple jump.

On the men’s side, junior Bernard Bush will compete in both the long jump and triple jump. He owns the program’s top distance in the triple jump (13.81m) and ranks second in the long jump (7.27m). Rookie Victor Nwosu will compete in the long jump with a season-best performance of 7.33m at the Big Red Invitational.

Senior Randy Heubel and sophomore Lorraine Hill will compete in the javelin throw. Heubel owns the Orange’s top four tosses in the event with a season-best distance of 55.29m at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Hill’s top performance of the season came at the Raleigh Relays, posting a toss of 41.92m.

Sophomore Monica Ridgeway will compete in the hammer throw and shot put. Senior Michael Cox will compete in the hammer throw and rookie Kwaku Boah will compete in the shot put.

Syracuse University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos