NCAA Regionals

UNTLifer · May 30, 2003

Track & field: Mean Green has finals on mind

05/30/2003

By Ethan B. Szatmary / Staff Writer

The North Texas track and field team takes 10 men and 11 women to the NCAA Midwest Region Track and Field Meet Friday, so head coach Rick Watkins said the Mean Green has as good a chance as any team in the region.

"We’ve got a really big group going," said Watkins. "We’ve got about as many as any other team, so I’m hoping we can run well and send a few athletes to [NCAA] nationals."

With the preliminary races beginning Friday morning at the University of Nebraska’s Ed Weir Track, Watkins said several UNT competitors have strong chances of continuing into Saturdays’ finals, and maybe the Mean Green can qualify its first athlete to nationals since Detron Woodson earned All-American honors in the 100-meter dash in 2001.

"I think if we run well, we can qualify several for the finals, and in the finals anything can happen," said Watkins. "Arthur Cox stands a good chance in the 400 meters, Ananka Clark could do it in the 100 meter dash and the 200 meters. Both Jessica Henderson (women’s discus) and Ryan Lancon (men’s pole vault) come in highly ranked, so I’d say they’re both contenders, too."

The qualifying rules for this year’s NCAA regional track meet have changed from previous years. This year, the top five athletes in each event in each region make the national meet in Sacramento, Calif., June 11-14. The NCAA also hands out at-large bids, with those bids spread as evenly as possible over all events until the total field for the meet reaches 544. Watkins expects one or two at-large bids per event.

In previous years, the NCAA invited the top 16-18 competitors nationwide, without restricting the amount of athletes from any given region.

Watkins said that he and many coaches are not pleased with the change.

"In the men’s 100-meter dash in the Midwest Region, there are 24 qualifiers. In the West Region, there are seven. Even with the at-large bids, there are going to be some people left out of nationals who should be there, and some people will be there that shouldn’t.

"Those are the rules that we have to live by, though. Very few of the coaches like it, but we still have to do the best we can, and that’s what we’re going to try do this weekend."