Adrienne Barnette is an all-conference high jumper hoping to close out her indoor career in style. |
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Track Competes at C-USA Championships, Friday & Saturday
Feb. 24, 2005
Houston, Texas - The Charlotte 49ers men's and women's track & field teams are in Houston, Texas in preparation for their final Conference USA Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend at Yeoman Fieldhouse. The meet opens at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, and concludes with the presentation of awards at 5:00 p.m. Saturday. Thirteen women's teams and eight men's programs will vie for the team titles.
The Houston men's team will try to capture their third-consecutive indoor crown, while the TCU women will be defending their 2004 title.
Charlotte head coach Robert Olesen was optimistic about his team's chances at the meet, which features many of the nation's top athletes. "Houston's men's team is strong, but I think our team will be right there competing for certainly one of the top spots. And on the women's side, we're a lot stronger and deeper than we have been in the past. I think we have a real shot to make some noise in the women's team competition."
Charlotte's men's team was fourth last season, while the women finished right in the middle of the pack in sixth.
The 49ers were one of six C-USA squads that decided to rest on the final weekend prior to the C-USA Indoor Championships. Charlotte enters the championships well equipped on both the men's and women's sides. Senior sprinter Derrick Johnson has turned in the fastest 60-meter time by a C-USA athlete (6.70) this season and ranks third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.52. Johnson's classmate, Brad Bailey, posted the highest score in the heptathlon with 5,124 points at the UNC Invitational.
On the women's side, 2004 All-American Sharonda Johnson leads a group of five athletes who have recorded top times or marks in C-USA this season. Johnson tops the triple jump rankings with a leap of 43-01.50". That mark was one of her four provisional marks she turned in during the regular season. She will be defending her indoor triple jump championship at the meet.
The junior joins her teammate Adrienne Barnette at the top of high jump rankings as both athletes cleared the provisional height of 5-10".
Fellow leaper Tawana Norman leads the conference in the long jump with a season-best mark of 19-11.75". Sprinter Tempess Stark leads the C-USA pack in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.49. Distance runner Cassie Ficken is the only C-USA female to provisionally qualify in the 3,000-meter dash after she turned in a time of 9:35.18 at the Virginia Tech Challenge.
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