National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 3, 1997

Division II

Wildcats expect stiff challenge

Event: 1997 Division II Women's Indoor Track Championships.

Overview: Eight times in the last nine years, Abilene Christian has cruised to the team title, outdistancing the field by more than 20 points on seven occasions. This year, the Wildcats again are the favorites, but are likely to face a stiff challenge. "It's going to be a tremendous battle with St. Augustine's, and Lincoln (Missouri) is coming up," Abilene Christian coach Wes Kittley said. "We're not dominating in any area. We'll have to score big with a few people to win. I think the race will be very close and go right down to the wire. We're not going to run away with (the title)." The Wildcats certainly have the experience and depth to win title No. 9. Delloreen Ennis, defending 55-meter hurdles champion; Katina Sommers (400-meter dash); and Tracey Barnes (400-meter dash) lead a deep sprints squad, while Vivian Ruijters (mile and 5,000-meter runs) headlines the Wildcats' middle-distance and distance corps. Freshmen Tracey Gust (high jump) and Renna Toniste (long jump and triple jump) are the Wildcats' best hopes for points in the field events ... St. Augustine's, seeking to end a nine-year title drought, counters with sprinters Joyann Eli (55-meter dash), Wilna Nelson (55-meter dash) and Prisca Phillip (400-meter dash) and 55-meter hurdlers Andrea Giscombe and Lisa Taylor. Nicole Irving (long jump and triple jump), Shantel Robinson (triple jump) and Denise George (shot put) headline the squad's field events ... Lincoln's title hopes rest on a squad of standout sprinters, led by defending 400-meter dash champion Lorraine Graham (55- and 400-meter dashes) and Bev Grant (55-meter dash).

Field: A maximum of 120 student-athletes will qualify for the championships.

Dates and site: March 7-8 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Butler and USA Track and Field are cohosts.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1575 for dates/site/schedule, 5280 for qualifiers, 5281 for first-day results, 5282 for second-day results and 5283 for final results only. Championships results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Results will be published in the March 17 issue of The NCAA News.

Championships notes: Lincoln sprinted to the top of the qualifying lists in the 400-meter dash and 1,600-meter relay February 8, when Lorraine Graham posted a time of 53.25 seconds in the 400 and the Blue Tigers' relay team clocked in at 3:45.07 at the Husker Invitational ... Through February 17, either Abilene Christian, St. Augustine's and Lincoln had the top qualifying marks in seven events.