The NCAA News - News and Features

March 9, 1998

Division II Men's Indoor Track

Abilene Christian favored again

Event: 1998 Division II Men's Indoor Track Championships.

Overview: "On any given day, any team can beat...." is an adage that doesn't carry weight at these championships. Abilene Christian demolished the field a year ago, recording an NCAA indoor-record 132 points to win its second consecutive title. The Wildcats, who have claimed four of the last five championships, may not match their 1997 points total, but they should repeat as champion. On paper, the Wildcats are unmatched, placing individuals among the top five qualifiers in all 13 events. On the track and in the field, the Wildcats are even more impressive, with standouts such as Kempa Busby, the defending 400-meter dash champion; Musa Gwanzura, defending champion in the 800-meter run; Terrence Norris (400-meter dash); Stephen Moore (high jump); and Andy Kokhanovsky (shot put). As of February 17, Busby sported the third-best qualifying mark in the 400 (47.87 converted), while Gwanzura had the top time in the mile run (4:07.20) and the fifth best time in the 800 (1:52.32). Junior Ayodele Aladefa recorded the best mark in the long jump at 7.59 meters (24 feet, 11 inches) .... St. Augustine's and Central Missouri State, second and fourth a year ago, respectively, again will chase Abilene Christian. St. Augustine's relies on senior Burkheart Ellis, juniors Jerome Young and Gabriel Burnett, and sophomores Deworski Odom and Lancelot Gooden. Young posted the nation's top mark in the 400-meter dash (47.09 converted), while Burnett has the best time in the 55-meter hurdles (7.25). Odom ranked No. 2 in both the 55-meter dash (6.29 converted) and hurdles (7.29). The Mules rely on sophomore Andrei Skvortsov, the top-ranked competitor in the pole vault (17 feet, 61Ž2 inches) and ranked sixth in the triple jump; junior Jeff Sander (55-meter hurdles and high jump); and senior Jeff Kremer (shot put).

Field: The Division II Championships Committee has approved a qualifying procedure that allows for a maximum of 126 student-athletes.

Dates and site: March 13-14 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, 5268 for qualifiers, 5269 for first-day results, 5270 for second-day results and 5271 for finals-only results. Championship results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Results will be published in the March 23 issue of The NCAA News.