MARIETTA, Ohio - Six different Capital University student-athletes will compete in four events at the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Marietta College May 21-23.
A total of 688 participants will compete in the championship after qualifying for the meet by reaching either automatic or provisional standards in their respective event(s).
Capital will be represented by a women's 4x100 meter relay team of junior Brittany Carter (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South HS), freshman Kwesi Seabrook (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne HS), senior Lizzy Stanton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow HS) and junior Jessica Starks (Akron, Ohio/Akron East HS) with freshman Desma Triplett (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Harvest Prep HS) serving as an alternate. In addition Starks will compete individually in the 100 and 200 meter dashes and senior Doug Gibbons (Troy, Ohio/Troy HS) will take part in the men's pole vault.
The Crusader women qualified in the 4x100 meter relay by posting a school record time of 47.59 on April 7 at the Indy Twilight Meet. CU enters with the fifth best qualifying mark in the nation and a group that won the 2009 OAC Outdoor and Indoor Championships this season. Capital will take to the track first in the preliminary round on Thursday at 4 p.m. in hope of advancing to the finals on Saturday at 1:10 p.m.
Starks will also hit the track as one of the favorites to make the finals in both the 100 and 200. Earlier this season, she ran a time of 12.06 in the 100 meter dash at the All-Ohio Championships to place her as the seventh seed in the event. Starks enters with the sixth-best time nationally in the 200 meter dash after running a 24.66 at the Campbell Wright Open on May 9. After running in the prelims of the 4x100 on Thursday afternoon, Starks will bounce back to take part in the trials of the 200 meter dash on Thursday evening at 6:15 p.m. She will then prepare for the trials of the 100 meter dash on Friday at 4:25 p.m. The finals for the 100 and 200 meter dash will take place on Saturday at 2:40 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. respectively.
Gibbons was part of a group of five individuals to qualify for the NCAA Championships on the final weekend of the regular season at the Gregory Invitational hosted by North Central College. The Crusader senior broke his own school record with a jump of 15-9.75' to rank 13th in a field that will include 17 entrants this weekend. Gibbons will look to close out his collegiate career on a high note Thursday when the men's pole vault takes place beginning at 6 p.m.
For more information on the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, log on to the official meet website at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/track/09championships/index.html