Feb. 17, 2005

SLC Indoor Championship Schedule
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HOUSTON - For the fourth time in the past five weeks the Lamar men's and women's track and field teams will compete in Yeoman Field House, this time in search of the Southland Conference Indoor Championship, as competition begins Friday morning and continues through early Saturday evening.

The meet starts at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, with heptathlon and pentathlon events. Field events begin at 3 p.m. with the women's weight throw, while running prelims open at 4 p.m. with the women's mile run.

Last season, the Texas State men's and women's teams each won for the third consecutive year. Stephen F. Austin was the runner-up in both divisions, while Sam Houston took home third in the men's championship and Texas-San Antonio nabbed third on the women's side.

The Lamar women placed eighth last year, marking the best SLC indoor finish in school history and the top finish since a third-place showing at the 1998 Sun Belt Conference Championships. LU's men recorded their second consecutive 10th-place finish in the indoor meet in 2004.

Several Lamar athletes are poised to produce point-scoring performances in this weekend's championship. Leading the way for the women is sophomore Toni Sylvester, who placed fifth in the 400 at last year's indoor meet. The Sour Lake native currently owns the league's second-fastest quarter-mile time this season with a mark of 56.58, set two weeks ago at the Hyatt Regency Invitational. She also carries the SLC's fifth-best 200-meter time of 25.45, which ranks fourth on LU's all-time indoor performance list.

Senior Candace Taylor, a product from League City, also has potential to score big for the Lady Cardinals. Taylor ran a personal-best of 2:16.23 to finish fourth in the 800 meters last season, and she currently owns the SLC's third-fastest time this season with a 2:17.62 clocking.

Fellow distance runners Jaqueline John and Renee Graham will also be on the minds of the competition this weekend, as both harriers rank among the league's best in a pair of events. John, a junior from Iowa, Louisiana, carries the SLC's third-best 3,000 meter time (10:05.75) and the fifth-fastest mile (5:04.77). Graham, a freshman from Hawera, New Zealand, sits fifth in the SLC in the 3K (10:07.30) and sixth in the mile (5:05.90). Several other Lamar distance runners will join John and Graham as scoring threats in the weekend's long distance races.

LU's distance medley relay (DMR) team should enter the meet as the favorite, boasting the fastest time of the season with a 12:22.24, nearly 14 seconds faster than the second-place team. The Lady Cardinals' 4X400-meter relay team also has hopes to score with the league's third-best time of 3:54.11.

On the men's side, sophomore Danny Shaw will look to improve upon a fourth-place showing in last year's 800 meters. The Wellington, New Zealand native also enters competition with the SLC's sixth-fastest mile time (4:20.81). Junior Jake Champagne, a two-year letterman from Port Neches, has the fourth-best 800 meter time this year with a 1:55.37. He also serves as a member of LU's mile relay team, which has the third-best time in the conference with a 3:19.18.

Beaumont native Casey Cole enters the weekend with the league's best high jump clearance, after posting a 6-8 mark in Houston on Feb. 5. He should be in position to do well, in addition to the men's DMR, which is currently fourth in the conference (10:36.46).