The NCAA News - News and Features

June 1, 1998

Division I Women's Outdoor Track

Texas primed to end LSU title reign

Event: 1998 Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Overview: A year ago, LSU edged Texas by the slimmest of margins (63 to 62) to win an unprecedented 11th consecutive title. This year, the Longhorns look to end the Tigers' championship reign. Fresh off their 1998 indoor championship, the Longhorns have the firepower to complete the feat. Texas features a slew of sprinters, led by 1996 400-meter dash champion Suziann Reid. The other sprinters are LaKeisha Backus, Toya Brown and Angie Vaughn. As of May 19, Vaughn had posted the nation's top qualifying marks in the 200-meter dash (22.59) and 100-meter high hurdles (12.80), while Reid had the top qualifying mark in the 400-meter dash (51.35). In addition to its top-flight sprinters, Texas also boasts standout high jumper Erin Aldrich .... The Longhorns aren't the only ones with a chance of taking the crown. UCLA, third a year ago, looks to ascend to the top spot behind Joanna Hayes (100-meter high and 400-meter intermediate hurdles), Suzy Powell (discus and javelin throws), Nada Kawar (shot put and discus throw), defending discus-throw champion Seilala Sua and Rachelle Noble (discus and hammer throws). Powell, Sua, Noble and Kawar rank Nos. 2-5, respectively, in the discus throw .... LSU, vying to join Arkansas' men's indoor track team (1984-95) as the only Division I programs to win 12 consecutive team titles, defends its title with sprinters Kwajalein Butler and Peta-Gaye Dowdie, high jumper Gretchen Francois, and the nation's top qualifying 400-meter relay team of SaDonna Thornton, Butler, Myra Combs and Dowdie. The Tigers' quartet posted a top mark of 43.42 .... Arizona's Amy Skieresz, defending 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs champion, seeks to become the first athlete to win both events in consecutive years.

Field: The Division I Championships/ Competition Cabinet has approved a qualifying procedure that allows for a maximum of 388 student-athletes.

Dates and site: June 3-6 at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Television coverage: The championships will be broadcast tape-delayed by CBS at 1 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, June 7.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1620 for dates/site/schedule, 5305 for qualifiers, 5306 for first-day results, 5307 for second-day results, 5308 for third-day results, 5309 for fourth-day results and 5310 for finals results only. Championships results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Results will be published in the June 15 issue of The NCAA News.