UTSA Track & Field set for NCAA Midwest Regional

May 27, 2004 
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907

UTSA Track & Field set for NCAA Midwest Regional

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SAN ANTONIO - Eleven members of the UTSA men's and women's track and field teams will travel to College Station, Texas, to compete in the second annual NCAA Midwest Regional Championships at Texas A&M's Frank G. Anderson Track and Field Complex. The two-day meet gets underway Friday, May 28, with field events starting at noon and running events at 4 p.m. The meet continues Saturday with field events at noon and running events at 6 p.m. For complete meet information and results, please visit aggieathletics.com.

UTSA's Midwest Regional Qualifiers

NCAA Qualifying Process
Beginning in 2003, an individual must finish in the top five in his or her respective event (top three in relays) at the NCAA regional meet to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. After all "by-place" qualifiers are determined, several "at-large" qualifiers will be selected to complete the field. The 10,000 meters and the decathlon/heptathlon will continue to use the NCAA automatic and provisional qualifying procedure. 

2003 Midwest Regional Rewind
The UTSA women finished in a tie for 29th place and the men placed 32nd at the first-ever NCAA Midwest Regional in Lincoln, Neb. Letitia Gilkes scored a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters to highlight action for the Roadrunner women, while Curtis Johnson took eighth in the men's 200m.

2004 SLC Outdoor Recap
UTSA collected four gold medals at the 2004 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships on May 15-17 in San Marcos. Senior Carl Johnson won the 110m hurdles with a personal-best and regional-qualifying 13.84, junior Curtis Johnson took top honors in the 100m with a regional 10.43 and freshman Larry Brooks raced to gold in the 800m in 1:51.29 to help the Roadrunner men finish fourth with 82 points. Sophomore Ryanne Dupree skimmed the 100m hurdles in a season-best and regional-qualifying 13.65 to win the only gold for the fifth-place women (62.5). Texas State swept both team titles.

SLC Accolades
UTSA has garnered Southland Conference Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors eight times this year. For the men, Brandon Buteaux earned indoor weekly accolades on Feb. 17, while T.R. Sissel and Carl Johnson were named Outdoor Athletes of the Week on March 23 and April 13, respectively. On the women's side, Ryanne Dupree (March 23, April 6 and April 27), Letitia Gilkes (Feb. 10) and Leticia Cerna (April 20) have all been honored.

Johnson & Johnson
The UTSA men boast one of the top sprinter/hurdler combos in the region in senior Carl Johnson and junior Curtis Johnson. Carl has established himself as one of the top high hurdlers in school history and is making the most of his final campaign. He has met the NCAA regional-qualifying standard of 14.33 all seven times this spring, capped by a personal-best 13.84 in winning his second SLC Outdoor crown in the event. Curtis won the league title in the 100m with a regional 10.43 and took runner-up honors in the 200m with a season-best 21.05.

Super Sophomore
Sophomore Ryanne Dupree is emerging as one of the top young athletes in collegiate track and field. The San Antonio native won the SLC Indoor pentathlon and has garnered top honors in the heptathlon at two of the more prestigious outdoor meets this year, posting a personal-best 5,383 points to win the Texas Relays and 5,087 to claim top honors at the Drake Relays. Dupree also won the 100m hurdles at the Whataburger Relays in 13.96 and picked up her first SLC Outdoor title in the event with a season-best 13.65 two weeks ago. The Junior All-American also leaped to a regional-qualifying 19-10 1/4 mark in the long jump at the A&M Invitational and a season-best 5-8 clearance in the high jump at the conference meet.