Feb. 18, 2010

Schedule | BIG EAST Championship Central | Watch Live
BIG EAST Performance List | Heat Sheets

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University men's and women's track and field squads will head to The New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory in New York City this weekend for the 2010 BIG EAST Indoor Championships. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the BIG EAST Conference Indoor Championships and the third consecutive year that the event has been held at The Armory.

Events begin on both Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. Eastern Time. The competition will wrap up at 4:15 p.m. ET on Saturday with Kelley Corcoran and Rachel Thiel in the women's weight throw. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 3:20 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon following the men's 1,600-meter relay.

After winning both the men's and women's championships each of the last two years, Connecticut will look to become the first school in BIG EAST history to have both its men's and women's squads win back-to-back-to-back titles in the same year.

For Marquette in the men's sprints, Tyler O'Brien looks to top last year's seventh-place finish (22.16 seconds) in the 200-meter dash as he continues to work back from a leg injury. Freshman Kyle Winter will make his debut at the conference championships in the 500-meter run after recording a freshman record (1:04.50) and the third-fastest time in school history at the Blue and Gold Invitational on Dec. 4. 

O'Brien is also scheduled to run the anchor leg of the men's 1,600-meter relay while Winter will run the 400 meters in the men's distance medley relay, in addition to being in the pool for the 3,200-meter relay.

Joining Winter in the distance medley relay will be fellow-freshmen Evan Ross in the 800 and Jack Senefeld in the 1,600, while Peter Bolgert will run the 1,200.

A group of three Marquette men will face a stacked field in the mile run with sophomore Jack Hackett leading the way. For the sophomore from Port Washington, Wis. it will be his first BIG EAST Championship after transferring into MU from Loyola-Chicago over the summer. 

Hackett ran a season-best time in the event of 4:08.97 at the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 5, a mark placing him fifth in school history, while Blake Johnson ran the sixth-fastest time (4:09.47) at the Indiana Relays on Jan. 29. Freshman Patrick Maag will also compete in the event.

In the field events, Shawn McLarney will compete in the long jump after capturing two event victories already in 2010, and freshmen Cheldon Brown and Ron Vick will take part in the high jump and pole vault, respectively.

Senior captain Jeff Kluge will lead the Marquette throwers into action as he closes in on All-American Dan Fax's school record in the weight throw. Kluge sits second in the BIG EAST with his mark of 18.81 meters (61-08.50), recorded at the Milwaukee Dual meet on Jan. 23.

For the MU women, senior captain Sarah Verdoliva will compete in the 800 meters, in addition to the 800 portion of the women's distance medley relay and the second leg of the 3,200-meter relay.

Joining Verdoliva in the distance medley relay will be sophomore Stephanie Grant (400 meters), senior Jayne Grebinski (1,200) and junior Kristin Pelzel (1,600). Individually, Grebinski will also look to better the time of 9:40.19 she recorded with her 10th-place finish in the 3,000-meter run last season.

Junior Olivia Johnson will anchor the 3,200-meter relay, with Verdoliva, Pelzel and junior Molly Arenberg running the other legs. Johnson is also scheduled to compete in the mile run where she hopes to set a new personal best.

In the field events, senior Erynn James will attempt to reach an NCAA automatic qualifying mark after setting a provisional mark earlier this year at the Milwaukee Dual meet on Jan. 23. James' height of 1.78 meters (5-10.00) ranks as the fourth-best jump in the conference this season.

Carrie Schmid looks to return to form in the pole vault after struggling to gain consistency after a year spent redshirting.

Rachel Thiel and Kelley Corcoran are the lone female throwers to compete during the indoor season for Marquette and both will take part in the Championships. Thiel will throw both the shot put and 20-pound weight, while Corcoran will compete solely in the weight throw.

Live streaming video of the BIG EAST Indoor Championships will be available from Friday through Sunday on BIGEAST.tv with a full-session pass priced at $9.95. To access the video stream, click here.

Qualified Marquette Athletes

Women-

800-Meter Run:

Sarah Verdoliva, Sr. Mexico, N.Y.
2010 Best: 2:14.80 (Feb. 6, Meyo Invitational)

Mile:

Olivia Johnson, Jr., Millford, Iowa
4:58.40 (Feb. 5, Meyo Invitational)

3,000-Meter Run:

Jayne Grebinski, Jr., Regina, Saskatchewan
9:49.05 (Feb. 5, Meyo Invitational)

High Jump:

Erynn James, Sr., Brookfield, Wis.
1.78 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)
(#1 all-time/NCAA Provisional qualifying mark)

Triple Jump:

Alyssa Davis, Jr., Beloit, Wis.
11.49 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Pole Vault:

Carrie Schmid, Sr., Arbor Vitae, Wis.
3.60 meters (Feb. 12, Hoosier Hills Invitational)

Shot Put:

Rachel Thiel, Sr., Lowell, Ind.
14.16 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Weight Throw:

Rachel Thiel, Sr., Lowell, Ind.
15.70 meters (Jan. 16, Badger Quadangular)

Kelley Corcoran, Sr., Richland Center, Wis.
15.50 meters (Dec. 11, Iowa State Holiday Preview)

Distance Medley Relay:

Stephanie Grant (400), Sarah Verdoliva (800), Jayne Grebinski (1,200), Kristin Pelzel (1,600)
(Alternate: Olivia Johnson (1,600), Courtney Kelly)

4x400-Meter Relay:

Jenny Zahn, Chanel Franklin, Alyssa Stevens, Stephanie Grant

4x800-Meter Relay:

Molly Arenberg, Sarah Verdoliva, Kristin Pelzel, Olivia Johnson (Alternate: Courney Kelly)

Men-

200-Meter Dash:

Tyler O'Brien, Jr., Rocky Hill, Conn.
2009-10 best: 22.10 (Dec. 4, Blue and Gold Invitational)

500-Meter Run:

Kyle Winter, Fr., Wales, Wis.
1:04.50 (Dec. 4, Blue and Gold Invitational)
(#3 all-time/freshman record)

800-Meter Run:

Mike McCarthy, Jr., Pewaukee, Wis.
1:54.99 (Feb. 5, Meyo Invitational)

Mile:

Jack Hackett, So., Port Washington, Wis.
4:08.97 (Feb. 5, Meyo Invitational)
(#5 all-time)

Blake Johnson, So., Saline, Mich.
4:09.47 (Jan. 29, Indiana Relays)
(#6 all-time)

Patrick Maag, Fr., Lake Oswego, Ore.
4:17.66 (Feb. 5, Meyo Invitational)

3,000-Meter Run:

Nick Szczech, Jr., Cudahy, Wis.
8:49.93 (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual) 

Brice Cleland, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.
8:42.19 (Jan. 16, Badger Quadrangular)

5,000-Meter Run:

Nick Szczech, Jr., Cudahy, Wis.
14:25.10 (Jan. 29, Indiana Relays)
(#3 all-time) 

Brice Cleland, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.
14:46.28 (Jan. 29, Indiana Relays)
(#10 all-time)

High Jump:

Cheldon Brown, Fr., Springfield, Ill.
1.99 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Pole Vault:

Ron Vick, Fr., Morton Grove, Ill.
4.40 meters (Feb. 12, Hoosier Hills Invitational)

Long Jump:

Shawn McLarney, Sr., Fairfield, Iowa
6.93 meters (Jan. 29, Indiana Relays)

Triple Jump:

James Muehleman, So., Chicago, Ill.
13.58 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Shot Put:

Jeff Kluge, Sr., Monona, Wis.
15.32 meters (Dec. 11, Iowa State Holiday Preview)

Eric Matuszewski, Sr., Elmhurst, Ill.
14.82 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Joseph Kohut, Jr., Columbia, Ind.
14.76 meters (Feb. 12, Hoosier Hills Invitational)

David Carbajal, So., Crystal Lake, Ill.
14.78 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Weight Thow:

Jeff Kluge, Sr., Monona, Wis.
18.81 meters (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)
(#2 all-time)

Jon Kuskowski, Jr., Toledo, Ohio
17.22 meters (Dec. 11, Iowa State Holiday Preview/Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Eric Matuszewski, Sr., Elmhurst, Ill.
15.24 (Jan. 23, Milwaukee Dual)

Distance Medley Relay:

Kyle Winter (400), Evan Ross (800), Peter Bolgert (1,200), Jack Senefeld (1,600)

4x400-Meter Relay:

Randey Fisher, Jay Emmer, Michael O'Brien, Tyler O'Brien
(Alternate: Shawn McLarney)

4x800-Meter Relay (Pool):

Peter Bolgert, Jack Hackett, Blake Johnson, Mike McCarthy, Evan Ross, Kyle Winter