The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Track Heads To NCAA Outdoor Championships
6/6/2006 | Track and Field
June 6, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - A record-tying nine athletes will travel to Sacramento, Calif., this week to represent Ole Miss at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The meet, hosted by Sacramento State and the Sacramento Sports Commission at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex, will begin on Wednesday, June 7 and conclude on Saturday evening.
Leading off the action for the Rebels will be senior Marquita Aldridge, who is competing in her fourth NCAA Championships. She will compete in the prelims of the women's long jump beginning at 5:30 pm on Wednesday. Aldridge turned in an outdoor best of 20-09.25 at the SEC Outdoor Championships to finished third. Aldridge turned in a mark of 20-08.50 at the Mideast regional to advance to the championships.
Aldridge will also compete as a member of the women's 4x100-meter relay team. The quartet of Aldridge, Kadeshia Fortune, Kim Mulkey and Cachet Murray earned a bid to the outdoor championships as an at-large. The relay team finished sixth at the Mideast regional with a time of 44.82 and had a season best time of 44.70. The semifinals of the 4x100 meters will be run at 5:00 pm on Wednesday.
Carmia Carroll turned in an outstanding performance in the high jump at the NCAA Mideast regional in Knoxville, Tenn. to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Carroll's mark of 5-09.25 tied her personal best set during last summer's Pam Am Junior Games and placed her third overall. Carroll is set to compete in the prelims of the high jump at 9:00 pm on Wednesday.
Freshman Cachet Murray was also granted an at-large bid in the women's 100 meters. Murray finished tenth at the Mideast regional with a time of 11.49 and had a season best time of 11.39. Sophomore Kenyata Coleman, the school record holder in the indoor 400 meters, also advanced to the championships in the 400 meters with a season best time of 53.14 at the Mideast regional. The prelims of the 100 meters will be ran at 3:30 pm on Thursday, while the prelims of the 400 meters will be ran at 5:50 pm on Thursday.
On the men's side, Ole Miss freshman Barnabas Kirui turned in a time of 8:47.85 to finish second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Mideast regional in Knoxville, Tenn. Kirui's runner-up finish advances him to his first NCAA Outdoor Championships. Kirui, the school record holder in the steeplechase, also posted a second place finish at the SEC Outdoor Championships. The semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase will begin at 9:25 pm on Wednesday.
Sophomore John Yarbrough turned in a mark of 13.97 in the men's 110-meter hurdles to finish third. Yarbrough, who ranks second all-time in school history in the 110-meter hurdles, won the 2006 Drake Relays. Yarbrough's old brother, Linnie Yarbrough of Middle Tennessee, also advanced to the NCAA Championships with a second place finish. The first round of the 110-meter hurdles is set to begin at 6:50 pm on Wednesday.
Freshman Derek McGuire fell short of his own school record in the shot put with a mark of 58-03.00 at the Mideast regional. McGuire's mark was enough for fifth place and advances him to his first NCAA Championships. The qualifying round for the men's shot put will begin at 7:30 pm on Thursday.
The final day of the 2006 NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships will be televised by the CBS Network from 11:30 am until 2:00 pm.
