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News Release

2006-07 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Outlook

3/7/2007

The 2006-07 UMBC women’s track and field team may be small but they pack a big punch.  Much like the men’s team, the women’s team is full of young talent and experienced veterans, with six freshmen and five seniors leading the way as the Retrievers begin outdoor competition on March 17 as they host the Big Dawg Invitational at UMBC Stadium.

Head coach David Bobb isn’t worried about the numbers, however.  “We have more people to fill events,” he said, “the only places we don’t have event coverage is the women’s pole vault and the women’s triple jump.”

“I think the women are going to do well,” said Bobb.  “I was very happy with [the women’s] performance indoor because everyone contributed.”

A small squad can accomplish just as much as a bigger squad; it all depends on who contributes.  “I think that every woman that went to the meet was either on a scoring relay or scored in an event,” said Bobb.  “I told the ladies before the conference meet, ‘Don’t even worry about taking only 14 or 15 girls, because you’ll probably do equal or better than the guys.’”

The women’s team did just that, taking sixth place, the same as the men’s team, which was more than double their size. 

SPRINTS/HURDLES

Events: 100m dash, 200m dash, 400m dash, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 4 x 100m relay, 4 x 200m relay, 4 x 400m relay

Top Returners: Jenelle Wilson, Francine Ward, Tierra Gregory, Kierra Gregory

Key Newcomers: Britney Foreman, Latasha Bost, Tawana Wilson

The Retriever women will be led by new talent and seasoned experience in freshmen Britney Foreman and Latasha Bost and senior co-captains Jenelle Wilson and Francine Ward, the foursome that make up UMBC’s 4 x 400-meter relay.

Bost and J. Wilson each took home individual titles at this year’s indoor meet, with Bost setting a new record in the 500m dash and J. Wilson narrowly missing her own record in the 400m dash.

J. Wilson also took gold in the 400m dash, was part of the conference champion and school record-setting 4 x 400m relay as well as the record-setting 4 x 100m during last year’s outdoor season, and also holds the UMBC record in the 200m dash and is part of the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m record-holding relay teams.

“Nine times out of ten [Jenelle] is pretty beat up [when she races],” said Bobb, “but she’s tough.  She’s a tough kid that wants to run through it.”

Foreman and Ward have also made their marks on the Retriever record boards, with Foreman setting a new record in the 60m dash and as part of the 4 x 100m relay during the indoor season and Ward holding a share of both the indoor and outdoor 4 x 400m relays. 

Freshman Tawana Wilson will also contribute in the shorter sprints, another Retriever who has already made a place for herself in the record books as part of the indoor 4 x 100m relay.

In the hurdles, Bobb looks to twins Tierra and Kierra Gregory to lead way with T. Gregory holding the current 55m and 60m indoor hurdles records, the 100m hurdles outdoor record and shares of both the indoor and outdoor 4 x 100m relays.

MIDDLE DISTANCE

Events: 800m run, 1500m run, 4 x 800m relay, Distance Medley relay

Top Returners: Jazzmon Morgan, Tawny Barin, Emily Saltsman

Key Newcomers: Alex Hyland, Suzanne Gabriel

In the middle distance category the Retrievers will look to junior transfer Alex Hyland to pick some much needed points as the women failed to score in the 800m and 1500m runs at last year’s outdoor meet.

“Alex is probably going to be one of our better runners just for the simple fact that she’s been under Coach Catone’s training regimen so there’s no transition,” said Bobb.  “The only transition that she had to have was changing schools.”

Hyland will be helped by senior Jazzmon Morgan, junior Tawny Barin, sophomores Emily Saltsman and Nayda Pirela, and freshman Suzanne Gabriel in the mid-distance events. 

DISTANCE

Events: 3000m run, 3000m steeplechase, 5000m run, 10000m run

Top Returners: Morgan Little, Kathleen Galan

Key Newcomer: Mairin Leahy

The Retrievers will have leadership from senior co-captains Morgan Little and Kathleen Galan in the distance events.  Little was absent from last year’s outdoor season as she spent a semester abroad, but Bobb will look to her to make a huge impact in the distance events this season.

“Morgan is just progressing tremendously,” he said.  “She’s running great and she seems to be responding well to the training situation.”

Little scored for the Retrievers in the indoor season, placing eighth in the 5000m run and was three places out of scoring with an 11^th place finish in the 3000m run.

Galan will be a strong competitor for the Retrievers as well, finishing just behind Little in ninth place in the 5000m run and 13^th in the 3000m run during the indoor season.  Galan also scored for the Retrievers at last year’s outdoor meet, finishing sixth in the 10000m run and eighth in the 5000m run.

“Kathleen is tough,” said Bobb. “She [ran personal best times] indoor and hopefully she continues with that success outdoor.”

The senior duo will be supplemented by freshmen Mairin Leahy and Sarah Murphy as well as sophomore Allison Mathis.

FIELD

Events: High jump, long jump, shot put, discus throw, hammer throw, javelin throw

Top Returners: Ashley Fauntleroy, Toni Boyd

Key Newcomer: Tawana Wilson

The UMBC field events hold the most strength in the throwing events with the return of juniors Ashley Fauntleroy and Toni Boyd. 

“Ashley’s confidence level is so high coming off the double victory [in the weight throw and shot put] at the [indoor] conference meet,” said Bobb.  “I think she will be a huge asset for us.  She can score in all four events: the shot, the discus, the hammer, and the javelin.  She will be huge for us.”

With Fauntleroy’s recent success and Boyd’s success at the outdoor conference meet last year, placing second in the shot put and fourth in the heptathlon, the Retrievers will be fairly solid in the throws.

The women’s squad will face holes in the women’s pole vault and triple jump, but Bobb will look towards Tawana Wilson to fill the long jump event and will look towards the rest of his squad to take a spot in the high jump.

“If someone is a true athlete, which is what I try to bring in when I recruit,” said Bobb, “we can find something they can do [besides their normal events].  That’s what’s nice about the sprints, jumps, and field group.”