March 16, 2006

McNeese State will open its outdoor track and field season Saturday in the 21st annual Louisiana Classics in Lafayette and several athletes are anxious about the start of the year.

One is graduate student Michelle Rzepka who will compete in the pole vault for the Cowgirls.

"I can't wait. It seems like it has been forever," she said during a recent practice session.

Rzepka is new to the team this year, having joined the squad following a conference winning career at Michigan State. She had one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining when she left the Spartans and selected McNeese State so she could work with McNeese head coach Ty Sevin and assistant coach Jim Davis, two of the top pole vault coaches in the nation.

Sevin said that he expected Rzepka to approach the 13 foot mark in Saturday's meet, a height that would be more than two feet higher than the school record.

During her career at Michigan State, Rzepka had an outdoor best of 13-5 1/4 while winning Big Ten indoor and outdoor titles.

Also anxious about their starts will be Cowboy pole vaulter Jimmie Heath and javelin thrower John Wallendom.

Heath is back in action after an injury sidelined him late in the indoor season. He had been the leading pole vaulter in the Southland Conference with a school record 17-2 3/4 but had to miss the conference championship meet.

Wallendom, one of the top prep javelin throwers in the nation (4th) a year ago at Sulphur High School with a best of 213-8, will be making his collegiate debut.

Also debuting with the team will be Jan Bicanic and Katrina Busjleta, natives of Croatia. Both will toss the shot put and the discus.

Several football players will take part in the meet for the Cowboys even though spring football practice is still going on. Brothers Darrick and Marcus Brown will long jump and run legs on the 4x100 meter relay, Quinten Lawrence will run the 100 meter dash and a leg on the relay and Ramon Smothers will do the same.

Four athletes are scheduled to participate in three events. Brad Augustus and Kerry Gremillion will run the 200 and 400 meters and the mile relay, Terry Lewis the 400, 110 hurdles and relay and Phil Winfield the 800, 1500 and relay.

"We're still in our hard training period," Sevin said, "and we look at this meet as a chance to give everyone an opportunity to compete."

Besides McNeese and host Louisiana-Lafayette, other teams scheduled to run are Grambling, La-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, LSU, UNO, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern and Valparaiso.

The meet will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday with the final event scheduled for 5:45 p.m.