Feb. 21, 2008

MILWAUKEE - Complete Results

The Marquette men's and women's track and field squad are set to compete in the BIG EAST Indoor Championships held at The New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory in New York City.

The Golden Eagles are sending 37 athletes to New York to compete in 13 events, as well as five relays.

"The Marquette track and field program is really looking forward to the opportunity to compete at the historic Armory in New York City," assistant coach Mike Nelson said. "We have several individuals competing in their last indoor championship and they want to go out on top."

The women will send two relay teams to compete in the distance medley relay and the 4x800m relay.

Senior Cassie Peller and sophomore Dani Owen will run in the mile. Peller posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:46.90 at the Meyo Invitational and has the fifth fastest time in the BIG EAST this season. Peller will also run in the DMR and as the lead off in the 4x800m.

Senior Kaitlyn Chambers, sophomores Jayne Grebinski and Anna Weber will run distance events.

Three women will be competing in the field events, with sophomores Kelly Corcoran and Rachiel Thiel and senior Jenna Mahaffey hitting qualifying marks.

In the jumps, freshman Alyssa Davis, sophomore Erynn James and junior Lana Rabas will compete, with junior Carrie Schmid looking for new heights in the pole vault.

Senior Mike Boedeker will compete in the weight throw, while juniors Michael Heim, Keith Jamerson and Eric Matuszewski and freshmen Jonathon Kusowski and Robert Bleem join him on the field.

The Golden Eagles have three relay teams on the men's side, sending a DMR, 4x400m and 4x800m squad to the meet with freshman Peter Bolgert and Mike McCarthy, sophomore Jay Emmer and junior Mark Kopecki members of the team.

Senior Ray Bratchett, freshman Nick Byom and junior Shawn McLarney will be tested in the jumps, while junior Nick Van Deraa will compete in the pole vault. Bratchett is fifth in the BIG EAST after he cleared 6-8.75 at the University of Iowa Open.

Sophomore Mike Laabs and senior Tom Sage will compete in the heptathlon. Sage is second in the league after accumulating 4,825 points at the UNI Invite earlier in the season.

Freshman Tyler O'Brien will run in the 60m after breaking the school record in his very first collegiate competition.

Running in the distance events will be senior Scott Mueller and freshman Nick Szczech, while junior Antonio Jones and freshman Tyler O'Brien will have a chance in the 200m.

"We've had outstanding marks this season, but each athlete is ready to take their performance to the next level at the BIG EAST Championships," Nelson said.

Complete results can be found at www.bigeast.org or by clicking the link above.