Track to open outdoor season at Rhodes

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's track and field teams will open their 2011 outdoor schedule this weekend as they travel the Memphis to compete in the Rhodes Invitational.

This weekend will be the teams' second year of competition at Rhodes as it serves as a good transition meet as the squads move outside.

At the 2010 Rhodes Invitational, MT took four first place finishes, including Cherice Robertson's double where she took the 100 meter hurdles and the high jump. Roscoe Payne and Zamzam Sangau also won events.

Although early in the outdoor season, Rhodes will be the athletes' first opportunity to position themselves in conference in order to receive bids to the faster heats in May's Sun Belt Championship in Murfreesboro. It will also serve top competitors who hope to compete on the national stage. Current NCAA qualifying standards sees the top 48 athletes in each selected discipline in east and west regions advancing the to two NCAA Championship Preliminaries. The top 24 marks from these two prelims go on the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Both teams are coming off successful indoor campaigns which saw head coach Dean Hayes add another conference title to his resume and newcomer Noah Akwu earn the program's 87th NCAA All-American title. At the conference championships, Justus David scored an impressive 36 points for his men's team. He was honored as the Sun Belt Trackman of the Year.

Full results and coverage from Middle Tennessee's action at the 2011 Rhodes Invitational will be available post-meet at GoBlueRaiders.com.

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