| June 21, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 Five Roadrunners head west for USA Outdoor Championships Meet Information/Results
SAN ANTONIO - Junior All-American Ryanne Dupree and freshmen Ashley Allen, Steven Brown, Cedric Harris and Luke Johnson will represent the Texas-San Antonio track and field teams at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships presented by Visa and the USA Junior Outdoor Championships next Thursday-Sunday, June 23-26, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Dupree will compete in the women’s heptathlon on Saturday and Sunday as UTSA’s only athlete in the USA Outdoor Championships. The 2005 Southland Conference Women’s Outdoor Athlete of the Year is coming off a record-breaking performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 10-11 in Sacramento, Calif. She shattered her own UTSA record with 5,575 points to finish eighth in the heptathlon and earn her second All-America certificate. Dupree also won her second straight Drake Relays heptathlon earlier this spring and has improved by nearly 300 points from the 5,298 posted in her first seven-eventer at the Texas Relays in early April.
Allen, Brown, Harris and Johnson all will participate in the USA Junior Outdoor Championships, which is held in conjunction with the USA Outdoor and limited to qualified athletes 19 years of age and under. Allen will open competition in the heptathlon on Thursday and continue through Friday evening. Brown and Harris both are entered in the men’s 100 and 200 meters on Thursday and Friday, respectively, while Brown also will compete in the long jump on Friday. Johnson is qualified for the men’s shot put held on Thursday.
Allen enjoyed a solid debut season for the Roadrunners that was capped by a fourth-place finish in the heptathlon at the SLC Outdoor. She scored a personal best 4,871 points after turning in back-to-back 4,700-plus performances at the Texas (4,789) and Drake (4,773) Relays. Allen opened the outdoor season with a bang, winning the Whataburger Relays with 4,696 points in March.
The freshman trio of Brown, Harris and Johnson were key parts of a successful season for the men. Brown and Harris emerged as two of the top young sprinters in the SLC, while both also advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional. Harris broke the school’s indoor 60m record with a 6.76 clocking at the SLC Indoor and later finished third in both the 60m and 200m at the conference meet. Brown contributed 16 points by himself at the SLC Indoor, highlighted by a runner-up showing in the deuce, and had a career-best 24-4 1/4 long jump to finish third at the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays.
Johnson quickly made his mark in the throwing events, demolishing an 18-year old school record in the hammer and posting a career-best 166-6 measure for runner-up honors at the SLC Outdoor. He also registered the team’s top marks in the shot put (53-4 1/2), discus (156-0) and indoor weight throw (50-7 1/4) this year.
For complete meet information and results, please visit http://www.usatf.org. Portions of the USA Outdoor will be televised live on Saturday at 3 p.m. Central time on ESPN and again on Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
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