June 22, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The 2006 USA Track and Field Championships kicked off Thursday for two Illini tracksters who traveled to Indianapolis, Ind., for the national competition. The day saw freshman Dominque Worsley advance in the men's junior 100-meter run and junior Cassie Hunt advance to Saturday's steeplechase final.

Freshman Dominique Worsley opened the day with a solid performance of 10.52 (wind: 0.2) in the junior 100-meter prelims. The time was good for a third-place finish in his heat and qualified him for the final scheduled just a few hours later where he ran a 10.58 to finish seventh overall.

"It was good to be around the competition that I faced today," said Worsley. "I didn't come through how I wanted to, so I hope to come back strong tomorrow in the 200-meters. It's been my race since high school, and I really want to go to China for the junior championships. I just need to focus on my technique and just run well."

After the men's junior 100-meter final, thunderstorms ripped through central Indiana delaying action at the championships for over an hour. Once the weather settled down, junior Cassie Hunt took to the track for the 3,000-meter steeplechase prelim. The race saw Hunt run a 10:18.22 to place fifth in her heat and ninth overall. Her performance qualified her for Saturday's final.

"Cassie and all the runners had a horrific warm up situation to deal with because of the weather," distance coach Karen Harvey said. "Mentally it was a challenge for Cassie. She had to sit and stare at a wall for an hour before the race, and once the sky cleared all the athletes had to rush through their warm ups. We are very pleased with Cassie's performance today. On Saturday she'll be going from the gun. We're very excited."

Along with her advancement in the steeplechase final today, College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Hunt as a member of ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-America second team for her success on the track as well as in the classroom this year.

On Friday, Worlsey will compete in the men's junior 200-meter run, with the prelims set to take place at 10:15 a.m. and the final at 1:05 p.m. Hunt will have the day off to prepare for the televised steeplechase finals on Saturday at 5:20 p.m.

For more information on USA Track & Field and complete results from today's competition, visit www.usatf.org.

Injury Update
Senior Abe Jones qualified to compete in today's 400-meter hurdle race, however elected not to travel to Indianapolis for the championships due to a foot injury.

TV Schedule
ESPN 2 will be broadcasting the USA Track and Field Championships on Saturday, June 24 at 6-8 p.m. ET and on Sunday, June 25 at 5-7 p.m. ET. (All times Eastern; subject to change; check local listings)>/i>