March 8, 2000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois will send a total of eight athletes (five from the men's team and three from the women's team) to the 2000 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend. The national meet covers two days, Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11. The meet is being held for the first time in Fayetteville, Arkansas after moving from the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The reason for the move is the state of the art Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas. The brand new, 6.5 million dollar facility features a 200-meter, banked track. It is the same track that was used in Toronto for the 1994 World Indoor Championships, although the surface has since been refurbished.

About the Men: The men's 4x400 meter relay team, consisting of seniors Babatunde Ridley and Tyrone Jones, sophomore Kendall McCroy, and junior Sherman Armstrong were the 12th and final team to qualify for the national meet in the relay. Illinois' relay, which won a Big Ten title for the third straight year, used last weekend's Last Chance Meet at Iowa State to qualify. In Ames, the team ran a season's best time of 3:10.16, just fast enough to slip in the field.

In addition to the mile relay, Armstrong will also compete in the 400 meter dash. Armstrong ran a season's best time of 47.03 in the quarter mile on Jan. 22. That time ranks 17th nationally heading into this weekend. The NCAA took 18 athletes in the 400 meter dash.

The final athlete representing the Illini men is sophomore Jason Van Swol in the 800 meter run. Van Swol, who has won two Big Ten titles in as many tries, will be competing in his first NCAA meet indoors. He has a season's best time of 1:50.15 heading into the meet, which ranks 14th. There are a total of 16 athletes entered in the 800 meter run. Van Swol has raced better each week during the season, and will battle to run under 1:50 for the first time indoors.

"The guys are fired up and ready to go," says Head Coach Gary Wieneke. "But our goal is not to get there, it is to place once we're there. Almost everybody we're taking has been there before, so they know what to expect. It's just a matter of staying calm and focused, and letting the competitive insticts take over once the gun goes off."

Tyrone Jones and Sherman Armstrong were All-Americans in 1998, comprising half of Illinois' 4x400 meter relay that finished second in the nation indoors. Babatunde Ridley has twice earned All-American honors in the long jump at national meets, and Van Swol ran in the 800 meters at last year's NCAA outdoor meet, but was eliminated in the prelims. McCroy is the only Illini who has not competed at an NCAA meet.

About the Women: For the women, a trio of returning All-Americans will represent the Illini this weekend. Graduate student Kerry Ann Richards, who has won the last two Big Ten titles in the 60 meter dash, will compete in that event this weekend. Richards ran a sizzling 7.33 at the Big Ten championships two weeks ago, setting a personal best and breaking the Big Ten Meet record. Richards' time is the sixth fastest in the nation heading into the championships, out of 20 athletes who have qualified. Richards earned All-American honors last season with her sixth place finish in the 60 meter dash.

Junior Aleisha Latimer will compete in two events this weekend, the 60 meter and 200 meter dashes. Latimer has been second to Richards at the last two Big Ten championships in the 60m, and enters the meet with a season's best time of 7.37, which ranks tenth. Latimer took advantage of the Last Chance meet last weekend at Iowa State to better her 200m season's best time to 24.10, which is the 17th fastest time in that event heading into the meet. There are 20 runners who have qualified for the 200m. Latimer was an All-American at last year's NCAA meet, finishing seventh in the 60 meter dash.

Senior middle distance specialist Tara Mendozza is making her second-straight appearance at the NCAA indoors. Last season, Mendozza earned All-American honors with her ninth place finish in the 800 meter run. This year, she has focused on the mile and finished second at the Big Ten Championships. She ran a season's best time of 4:45.68 on Jan. 29 at the Illinois Women's Invitational. That time ranks 11th out of the 17 athletes who will compete in the mile.

While Latimer ran at the Last Chance meet, Richards and Mendozza took last weekend off. "They weren't really in any jeopardy of being bumped from the field because we were pretty confident their times would hold up," Head Coach Gary Winckler said. "So we welcomed the rest, and I think it was a good thing for those two. With Aleisha, we wanted her to get one more 200 race under her belt to better prepare her for nationals. From a fitness standpoint, I like where all three of them are at heading into this meet."

Schedule of Events for Illinois Athletes at the NCAA Indoor Championships

Friday

Saturday