Track And Field Heads To Ole Miss This Weekend

Friday, March 24

Oxford, Miss.

University of Memphis

Joe Walker Invitational

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Mar 23, 2017 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Tigers to compete in the Joe Walker Invitational.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Coaches want their teams to peak at the right time during their seasons. For basketball, coaches want to peak right now during March Madness.

It's no different for other collegiate programs, including head coach Kevin Robinson's University of Memphis track and field squads. As the Tigers head to Oxford, Miss., this weekend, Robinson is looking to ease into the 2017 outdoor campaign with both teams setting their sights on peaking in May for the postseason. This weekend's Joe Walker Invitational at Ole Miss is the Tigers' second outdoor meet of the season.

After a few athletes competed at last week's meet, more will get into the act at the Joe Walker Invitational. The high and long jumpers and hurdles, along with the throws (shot put), all begin their outdoor seasons this weekend.

Robinson on the Joe Walker Invitational:
"We got off to a decent start last weekend. We had some solid performances. It's really early for our outdoor season, and we're starting our outdoor like we did our indoor season.

"We went into heavy training mode prior to the Rhodes Invitational, and a lot of our athletes were banged up heading into that meet. To have the performances we had last week speaks volumes of where we are going. Things are going well, but we just have to stay healthy.

"We hope it will stay dry Saturday, as the weather forecast is for rain all day. This weekend's meet will have a little more pressure and more competition with higher-profile teams. We'll be competing at Ole Miss' new facility that they've just re-built, and it's just phenomenal. We're ready to go and see how we match up. We're looking to build on the momentum we started last weekend."

The following is this weekend's meet information:

Team Scoring:
The Joe Walker Invitational is a non-scoring team meet.

Competing Schools:
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Arkansas State, Austin Peay, Belmont, Illinois State, Indiana State, Jackson State, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Memphis, Meridian C.C., Mississippi Valley State, Murray State, New Orleans, Ole Miss, Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri, SIU Edwardsville, Temple

Tigers Tidbits/Five "What To Watch For":

Going for the record: Chelsea Ladd and Arnica Zitting are breaking away from the rest of the team and going to Raleigh, N.C., to run in the 2017 Raleigh Relays. N.C. State is hosting the meet. Ladd and Zitting both will attempt to set the school record in the 10,000 meters, a record held by Daniele Riendeau since 2006.
Long time, no see: For the first time in three years, the Tigers are competing in a meet at their Mid-South rival, Ole Miss. The Memphis and Ole Miss programs annually compete in each other's home meets, but the Rebels have been without a track and field home the past couple of years with the re-construction of their facility. Memphis travels back to Oxford, Miss., in early May for the Ole Miss Classic.
Jumps/throws back in action: After a couple weeks off from competition following the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships in late February, most of the jumps and throws groups return to action. Olushola Olojo, the conference champion in the men's indoor triple jump, is competing in the long jump, and Chardae Greenlee, an all-league performer in the women's triple jump, is scheduled to jump in both the long and triple events. Jordan Wesner, The American Indoor men's high jump champion, will high jump this weekend. The Tigers return to full strength in the men's and women's shot put. Memphis goes four-deep on the men's side (Rafael Vallery, Yannik Schaly, Wade Wells, Adam Neelly) and three-deep for the women (DeeNia McMiller, Nina de Poorter, Ashley Pryke).
Third time, another charm: For Ashley Pryke, she already has set the program record in the women's javelin twice – once in 2016 and once in 2017. So, how about a third time? That's what Pryke will attempt to do at the Joe Walker Invitational. The American Athletic Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week had a school-record throw of 175-3 (53.41m) last week.
"Gun"ning for another record: Last week, Kolbeinn Gunnarsson ran a 20.96 in the men's 200 meters, setting an Icelandic national record in the event. He is the first male runner in his country's history to run a sub-21 second 200 meters.