June 26, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- Former Tar Heel Marion Jones and freshman Adam Montague captured individual event wins to lead a strong showing by a large contingent of current and former UNC track and field stars at last week's USA Track and Field Championships. Jones, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, triumphed in the 100 meters with a time of 11.10 seconds. Montague was the junior national champion in the javelin with a winning mark of 222-8 (67.88m).

Three other UNC standouts joined Jones and Montague as medalists. Alice Schmidt, a two-time NCAA champion while at Carolina, finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:00.00. Former teammate Erin Donohue was sixth in 2:02.87. Blake Russell, a distance star at UNC and one of the top cross country runners in the world, was third in the 5,000 in 15:19.07. Laura Gerraughty, who recently finished her college career with her fourth NCAA title, took second in the shot put with a throw of 59-10 1/4 (18.24m).

Crystal Cox and Monique Hennagan, who both own Olympic gold in the 1,600-meter relay, were sixth and eighth, respectively, in the women's 400. Milton Campbell, who won an NCAA title in the 1,600-relay at Carolina, was eighth in the men's 400. Sheena Gordon, the 2006 NCAA champion in the indoor high jump, was eighth with a top clearance of 5-10 (1.78m).

In addition to Montague, two other current Tar Heel throwers had solid finals showings. Justin Ryncavage, the 2006 NCAA champion in the javelin, was eighth with a top mark of 232-7 (70.89m). Nick Owens, a recent All-America performer in the hammer throw, was 13th (215-4 (65.64m).

Other competitors with UNC ties that did not make finals include Ola Sesay (long jump), Adam Shunk (high jump), LaTasha Colander (100) and Allen Johnson (110-hurdles).

By virtue of his performance this week, Montague earned a spot at the Junior World Championships in China this August. Owens will compete in the NACAC Under-23 Championships in July.