Championship Central | Order of Events
Men's Outdoor Marks | Women's Outdoor Marks

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Syracuse track & field team will commence its championship season when it travels to the 2010 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships on Friday, April 30 at University of Cincinnati's Gettler Stadium. The Orange will send 40 student-athletes, including an even mix of men and women, to compete in 23 events in the three-day meet.

The Orange men are looking to improve on last year's ninth-place finish, while the women are seeking to better their 12th-place showing. Both squads boasted a total of six All-BIG EAST performances, four of which are competing in the conference championship this season. Graduate student sprinter Michael LeBlanc, graduate student long jumper Bernard Bush, heptathlon champion senior Uhunoma Osazuwa, and junior 10K runner Catherine DeSarle will all return in their respective event.

Osazuwa was the highlight of the 2009 BIG EAST Championship, as she became SU's third consecutive heptathlon champion after compiling an NCAA Regional-qualifying point total of 5,236. She went on to win her second consecutive postseason heptathlon title at the ECAC Championship before being selected as a national qualifer to participate in the 2009 Division I NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship, where she finished 16th.

The 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Championship will be video streamed live on BIGEAST.tv (click here to watch). The coverage begins on Friday at 11:00 a.m. with the men's 100-meter dash as part of the decathlon.

Sprinters
Junior Lareea Chisholm will be the lone female sprinter for the Orange at the BIG EAST, as she will spread out her talents in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Chisholm owns the fastest time in both events after qualifying for the conference championship in the 100-meter dash at the Texas Relays (12.16) and in the 200-meter dash at the ECAC Indoor Championship (24.83) earlier this season.

Three men will vie for  either the 100- or 200-meter dash crowns, including seniors Michael LeBlanc and Antoine Clark and freshman Darryl White. LeBlanc owns the fastest time on the team in both short distance events, including a first-place, NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the 100-meter dash (10.43) at the Sun Angel Classic. Clark will also participate in the 100- and 200-meter dash after his qualifying times of 10.81 and 22.06, respectively, while White registered three BIG EAST-qualifying times to join his veteran teammates in the 100-meter dash.

Distance Runners
Senior Maegan Krifchin and junior Liz McCarter will run the 1,500-meter event for the women. McCarter won the 1,500-meter crown at both the Cornell Big Red Invite and the Cortland Track Classic this season, while Krifchin earned an ECAC-qualifying mark at the Stanford Invite (4:28.30).

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Syracuse will be led by five student-athletes who have already qualified for NCAA Regional competition. Junior Rebekah MacKay leads the group, as she owns the eighth-fastest time in the nation (10:20.07) after winning the crown at the Larry Ellis Invite. Senior Stefanie Slekis, sophomore Heather Stephens, sophomore Natalie Busby and junior Cassie White all finished in the top five at the Larry Ellis to qualify in the steeplechase.

The Orange will have five representatives in the women's 5,000-meter led by juniors Katie Hursey and Rebekah MacKay, who both earnedNCAA Regional qualifying times at the Stanford Invite. Junior Catherine DeSarle, graduate student Nana Sang-Bender, and freshman Kimberly Spano will all be running the longest event of the championships, the 10,000-meter run.

Five men will compete the 5,000-meter event, along with another four in the 10,000-meter. Senior Brad Miller will look to lead the Orange in the 5,000-meter, after earning the team's best NCAA qualifying time of 13.57.09 with his first place finish at the Stanford Invite. Sophomore Tito Medrano, who also earned a BIG EAST qualifying time at the Stanford Invite, will lead the 10,000-meter contingent. Senior Curtis Bixler will be the lone entry for the Orange men in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after posting an IC4A-qualifying time of 9:07.40 at the Penn Relays.

Hurdles
Junior Jarret Eaton, sophomore Matthew Callanan and freshman Amadou Gueye will run the 110-meter hurdles for the Orange. Eaton recorded the team's best time of the season (14.05) at the Larry Ellis Invite, where he placed third. His mark is also the third best in the league and ranks 37th in the NCAA. Callanan will also be running the 400-meter hurdles for the Orange after earning a BIG EAST qualifying time of 55.30 at the Larry Ellis.

Jumps
On the women's side seniors Uhunoma Osazuwa, Annabelle Pellerin and Melissa Romero  all qualified to compete in the high jump at the BIG EAST Championships. Osazuwa also qualified for the long jump after registering a mark of 5.88m at the Sea Rays Relays and holds the best mark in both jumping events. Sophomore Ieva Staponkute will be the lone representative for the Orange in the triple jump after her ECAC-eligible mark of 12.19m at the Cornell Easter Weekend Open.

Veteran Bernard Bush qualified for the men's long jump at the Sun Angel Invite where he finished fifth with a mark of 7.26.

Throws
Senior Lorraine Hill will be tossing the javelin for the women at the BIG EAST Championships after earning a qualifying mark three times this season. She most recently recorded an ECAC-qualifying mark of 42.08m at last weekend's Penn Relays.

The men will have two entries in the javelin, sophomore Mark Melilli and freshman Shane Raupers. Melilli placed seventh at the Sun Angel with a team best mark of 62.81m. Junior Kwaku Boah is scheduled to compete in the hammer throw for the Orange at the championships.