May 23, 2007

JACKSON, Miss. - The Southwestern Athletic Conference will be a force to be reckoned with at the 2007 NCAA Track & Field Championships. Nine of the ten schools have athletes participating in the NCAA Regional Championships. Jackson State, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State, Mississippi Valley State and Southern University will be represented at the Midwest Regional at Audrey J. Walton Stadium on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia. Student athletes from Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern have advanced to the Midwest Regional, which will be held at Jim Duncan Track at Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Both regionals will be held May 25-26.

Toniece Williams (400 meter hurdles), Kimberly Whalen (800 m run), Jemu ZarZar (1500 m run) and Lukina Burks (high jump) will represent Jackson State. The Lady Tiger 4x400 meter relay team made up of Lisa Quinn, Williams, Whalen and Tayari Clay will also be in competition. On the men's side Jackson State will be represented by Eric Speer in the 800 meter run and LaVarius Giles, the "Fastest Man in the SWAC", in the 100 and 200 meter dash.

Automatic qualification to the national championships will be awarded to the top five (5) declared finishers from each regional in an individual event. The top three finishers in relays events will advance. The NCAA National Track & Field Championships will be held in Sacramento, CA.

Below is the complete list of SWAC participants in the NCAA Track and Field Regionals:

Alabama State Ashley Hawkins - 400m Hurdles

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Michelle Fedrick - 400m Dash Theresa Padilla - 5000m Run

Grambling State Bobbie Davis - Triple Jump

Jackson State Toniece Williams - 400m Hurdles Lukina Burks - High Jump Kimberley Whalen - 800m Run Jemu Zarzar - 1500m Run 4x400 Relay-Lisa Quinn, Toniece Williams, Whalen, Tayari Clay

Prairie View A&M Nikki Cameron - 200m Dash, 400m Dash, Long Jump

Southern University Monica Robinson - 110m Hurdles, Long Jump Kaisha Weeks - 110m Hurdles 4x100 Relay - Pamela Cockerham, Weeks, Robinson, Kenisha Joseph

Texas Southern Francesca Okwaro - 100m Dash

Men's Regional Qualifiers

Alabama State Melvin Ogletree - 100m Dash Arthur Hinton III - High Jump

Alcorn State Brandon Franklin - Discus Throw Nathaniel Hughes - 400m Hurdles

Grambling State Terrance Brown - Javelin Throw Kory Cook - 200m dash Kerone Fairweather - 3000m Steeplechase Edmund Graham - 110m Hurdles Keantwon Gray - 100m Dash Herbert Harris - Triple Jump Edmond Joseph - 110m Hurdles 4x100 Relay - Rickey Thomas, Gray, Cook, Graham

Jackson State LaVarius Giles - 100m Dash, 200m Dash Eric Speer - 800m Run Derrick Ray - 400m Hurdles

Mississippi Valley State Gregory Ben - High Jump

Southern University Jayson House - High Jump 4x100 Relay- Joshua Combs, Albert Turner, Ambeau Joubert, Robert Delmore 4x400 Relay- Turner, Delmore, JaMarkus Bailey, Kylon Wishom