Track and Field NCAA Midwest Regionals

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Mean Green Track Stormin' Norman

Courtesy: University of North Texas

Release: 05/25/2005

Courtesy: Rick Yeatts

Ciji Brooks and the Mean Green will compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet this weekend in Norman, Okla.

(5/25/05) - The North Texas Track and Field team has always made a habit out of going to the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet, but this year the Mean Green is taking it by storm.

The Mean Green is sending a school-record 21 athletes to Norman, Okla. this weekend to compete for a spot in the national meet, including 10 freshmen and nine multi-event qualifiers.

Leading the pack for the Mean Green is Kory Williams. The senior qualified in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay and was the Sun Belt Conference champion in both events. Williams' best time in the 400-hurdles was 50.99, the fourth fastest in the region this season.

School record holder Ciji Brooks will also compete in multiple events. The junior will participate in the shot put and 100-meter hurdles, both events she holds the school records for. Brooks is a two-time regional qualifier.

The Mean Green relay teams will be well represented in Norman, as every relay team qualified for the meet. The women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Chi Chi Echebelem, Racquel Hudson, Chrystal Mitchell and Rhonda Williams qualified at the Sun Belt Championships, finishing in 3:41.47. The team of finished second, eclipsing the school record by nearly half a second.

The women’s 4x100-meter relay team of Rachael Runnels, Osaze Aghedo, Chastidy Russell and Echebelem broke the school record twice this season. The team’s best time of 45.15, its second qualifying mark of the season, is one of the top-10 times in the region this season and was good for a second place finish at the conference meet.

The men’s 4x100-meter relay did just as well, bringing home the gold medal. The team of David Schwein, Derek Logan, Brandon Irabor and Johnny Quinn finished in 40.39, its second qualifying mark of the year.

The men’s 4x400-meter relay also won gold, finishing with the second fastest time in school history, 3:08.05. The team consisted of Williams, Logan, Schwein and Kelvin Wright.

The Mean Green runners are familiar with this track. The team has competed on this track once already this year, and visited Norman twice during the indoor season.

The meet will begin Friday, May 27 at the John Jacobs Track Facility on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Field events will begin at noon, while the running events will start at 4 pm.

Men

Irabor, Brandon - 4 X 100

Lee, Mark - High Jump

Logan, Derek - 4 X 100, 4 X 400

Quinn, Johnny - 4 X 100

Roberson, Ryan - 4 X 100 (a)

Schwein, David - 4 X 100, 4 X 400

Stone, Jarrod - Long Jump

Williams, Bryant - 4 X 400 (a)

Williams, Kory - 400H, 4 X 400 (a)

Woodard, Brandon - 4 X 400

Wright, Kelvin - 4 X 400, 4 X 100 (a)

Women

Aghedo, Osaze - 4 X 100

Brooks, Ciji - Shot Put, 100 Hurdles

Echebelem, Chi Chi - 4 X 100

Hudson, Racquel - 4 X 400 (a)

McKerran, Bonnie - 3000 Steeplechase

Mitchell, Chrystal - 4 X 400, 4 X 100 (a)

Runnels, Rachel - 200, 4 X 100

Russell, Chastidy - 4 X 100, 4 X 400

Wesley, Deidra - High Jump

Williams, Rhonda - Long Jump, 4 X 100 (a), 4 X 400

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Good Luck to the Mean Green at NCAA Midwest Regionals. Go out and make UNT proud!

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Mean Green Sprinter Advances At NCAA Regional Meet

Courtesy: University of North Texas

Release: 05/27/2005

Norman, OK (05/27/05) – Mean Green sprinter Kory Williams won his heat in the 400-meter hurdles preliminaries, advancing the senior to the finals at the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet.

Williams, the Sun Belt Conference 400-hurdles champion, turned in a time of 52.24, earning the fourth slot for Saturday’s final race. The top five times in the finals will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships next month in Sacramento, Ca.

Williams owns two of the top three times in school history in the event, both of which were set earlier this season.

The women’s 4x100-meter relay turned in the fifth fastest time in school history, but fell just short of qualifying for the finals. The team of Rachael Runnels, Osaze Aghedo, Chastidy Russell and Chi Chi Echebelem finished with a time of 45.58 and finished ninth. The top eight teams qualified for Saturday’s finals.

The 4x100 team finished second at the conference meet and turned in three of the five fastest times in school history this season.

The men’s 4x100-relay team finished 11th at the regional meet. David Schwein, Derek Logan, Brandon Irabor and Johnny Quinn finished in 40.42, capping off a season that included a first place finish at the Sun Belt Championships.

Mean Green long jumper Rhonda Williams finished in 15th place after a leap of 18-11.75 (5.78-meters).

Ciji Brooks competed in the 100-meter hurdles and finished in 11th place with a time of 13.78. The junior’s time is the second fastest in school history, further illustrating her domination over the event at North Texas. Brooks now holds four of the top five times in Mean Green history.

Brooks will have another chance at the national championships when she competes in the shot put tomorrow. Three-time regional qualifier Deidra Wesley will also be competing tomorrow in the high jump, as well as Bonnie McKernan in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relay teams.