ECU Track Ready For NCAA East Regional
May 26, 2005 | Men's Track and Field
RANDALL'S ISLAND, N.Y. -- East Carolina will be well represented at the 2005 Men's and Women's NCAA Division I East Regional Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday at Icahn Stadium near New York City.
A total of 10 individual athletes and a pair of ECU relay squads earned post-season qualification and will compete at one of four regional sites for the opportunity to advance to the NCAA National Championships, scheduled for June 8-11 at Sacramento, Calif.
For veteran coach Bill Carson's men's team, senior B.J. Henderson will compete in the 200 and 400-meter events while junior Hector Cotto will try to qualify in the 110-meter hurdles. Henderson currently ranks fourth in the region after recording a season-best time of 20.67 in the 200 meters at the Conference USA Championships May 13. Cotto stands fifth regionally after setting a new school record with a time of 13.78 during a second-place finish in the C-USA finals earlier this month.
East Carolina's 4x100 relay unit, which turned in a time of 39.95 during conference competition to earn qualification, consists of Henderson, junior DeAndre Hyman, senior Thomas Lewis and junior Reggie Williams.
In the field events, sophomores Eric Frasure and Terrance Myers will both compete in the hammer throw Saturday. Frasure, who established a new ECU standard with a toss of 61.79 meters at the Charlotte Invitational April 2, is currently ranked eight, while Myers stands 19th after an effort of 58.25 at the C-USA Championships May 12.
Women's head coach Matt Munson, who will be closing out his tenure heading the Lady Pirates' program at the close of the championships, will direct a total of six athletes and his 4x400 relay squad during the regionals.
Senior Terri Davenport, fresh of her record-setting performance of 23.67 at the C-USA Championships, will participate in the 200-meter dash while graduate student Tara DeBrielle will try to advance in the 800 meters after reaching the post-season with a run of 2:08.85 during the league finals. Freshman Aisha Bilal-Mack will also make her regional debut in the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.70).
East Carolina's relay team, made up of Davenport, DeBrielle, freshman Portia Baker and junior Simone Baptiste, earned a position on the starting blocks thanks to a school-record effort of 3:38.98 at the prestigious Penn Relays April 30.
Freshman Lindsey Rosales (pole vault), senior Alisha Hopkins (long jump) and junior Chelsea Salisbury (javelin) will headline the Lady Pirates' field event performers. Rosales recorded a vault of 3.80 meters at the Charlotte Invitational to meet the NCAA's qualification minimums, Hopkins surpassed the standard with a leap of 5.98 meters at the C-USA Championships and Salisbury earned a berth after a toss of 44.00 meters during the season-opening Seahawk Invitational March 19.
