The NCAA News - News and Features

May 18, 1998

Division II Men's Outdoor Track

Three-peat awaits Abilene Christian

Event: 1998 Division II Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Overview: The biggest question for this year's event is not whether Abilene Christian can win a third consecutive title, but whether the Wildcats can exceed their 1997 performance. A year ago, the Wildcats dominated the field, compiling 151 points, 82 more than their nearest competitor. So, can Abilene Christian exceed the 82-point margin? It's not likely, but given coach Wes Kittley's squad's performance over the past two years, it's not impossible. Heading into the 1998 championships, it's clear the Wildcats once again will be well represented. Defending long-jump champion Aladefa Ayodele, who posted the nation's top qualifying mark in the event through April 28, and defending 400-meter dash champion Kempa Busby are among a number of Wildcats who will compete at the championships. The Wildcats also will showcase Musa Gwanzura, who posted the top qualifying mark in the 1,500-meter run and the second-best mark in the 5,000-meter run; Andy Kokhanovsky, the top qualifier through April 28 in the discus throw; Terrence Norris (400-meter dash); Salem Messaoui (800-meter run); and Jason Prann (400-meter intermediate hurdles). The Wildcats also recorded the top Division II mark in the 1,600-meter relay .... St. Augustine's, Central Missouri State and Morehouse headline a group of challengers. St. Augustine's looks for points from its sprints squad. Jerome Young, who posted the top marks in the 200- and 400-meter dashes through April 28, and Gabriel Burnett, the top qualifier in the 110-meter high hurdles, lead the way for the Falcons. Young is the only competitor to post marks below 21 seconds in the 200 and 46 seconds in the 400. Morehouse is led by two-time defending high-jump champion Gregory Roberts, the top qualifier in the high jump, Erin Johnson (triple jump) and Jerome Hamler (100-meter dash).

Field: The Division II Championships Committee has approved a qualifying procedure that allows for a maximum of 236 student-athletes.

Dates and site: May 21-23 at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1629 for dates/site/schedule, 5294 for qualifiers, 5295 for first-day results; 5296 for second-day results, 5297 for third-day results and 5298 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 1 issue of The NCAA News.