March 26, 2003

The TCU track & field squads are back in action this Saturday when they travel to Houston to take part in the Tom Tellez Invitational at the Lewis/Tellez Track and Field Complex behind the University of Houston's Athletics/Alumni Center. TCU will be competing against men's and women's teams from Baylor, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Texas A&M and the host Cougars. In addition, the men's squad from Texas and the Illinois women's team will be competing.

The Frogs were originally scheduled to compete this weekend in Arlington at the UTA Invitational, but opted to travel to Houston instead.

"We made that decision for a couple of reasons," said TCU Head Coach Monte Stratton. "In late March, the weather is a little unpredictable and we figured it would be warmer in Houston. That, along with the fact that the competition is probably a little better, made it a better gamble."

On the men's side, TCU enters the meet with some key injuries.All-Americans Michael Frater, Aundre Edwards and Cleavon Dillon are not expected to compete. Stratton, however, expects a strong showing from the TCU women.

"Between sickness and injuries, the men's team is not where we would like them to be," noted Stratton. "However, I think this is the best shape our women have been in in a long time. With warmer weather this weekend, I expect them to do extremely well. I think our 4x1 relay team (of La' Toya White, Donita Harmon, Tiffany Starts and Monica Twum) has a chance to break the school record every time they step on the track."

Here are the TCU entries for Saturday's Tom Tellez Invitational:

MEN:

100m: Jabari Fields, Jermaine Joseph

200m: Jabari Fields, Jermaine Joseph, Brandon Simpson, David Spencer

400m: Nathaniel Garcia, Jerry Harris, Kendall Pyant

800m: Jason Morgan

1500m: Case Martinec, Raita Yamanouchi

300m Steeplechase: Johnathan Bundren, Steven Lenney

Long Jump: Aundre Edwards

Triple Jump: Brandal Lawrence

Pole Vault: Cody Koontz

WOMEN:

100m: Bernette Blake, La' Toya White

200m: Kandis Bell, Bernette Blake, Donita Harmon, Chanel Hewitt, Tiffany Starts, Monica Twum

400m: Larissa Bakasa

800m: Justina Malone

1500m: Heather Isbell, Mary Kinyanjui, Katrina Zielinski

3000m: Katie Cosgrove, Alayne Thompson

100m Hurdles: Julie Curtis

400m Hurdles: Julie Curtis

3000m Steeplechase: Heather Isbell, Shannon McKinney

4x100m Relay: La' Toya White, Donita Harmon, Tiffany Starts, Monica Twum

4x400m Relay: Julie Curtis, Larissa Bakasa, Chanel Hewitt, Donita Harmon