Track opens season at Tom Jones Memorial

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's and women's track and field teams will start the 2008 indoor season this Saturday as it heads to Gainesville, Fla., for the Tom Jones Memorial Classic.

Schedule: Tom Jones Memorial Classic, Saturday, Jan. 26th (University of Florida)

Last Season: Amanda Davey put together an indoor career-best in the 3000m at last year's event, finishing second with a time of 10:21.00. There were several other Lady Ospreys with big finishes, including Elise Trexler, who led the way in the high jump, finishing in eighth-place with a height of 1.63m. Amy Stroder (1.63m) and Emily Kohler (1.58m) finished right behind Trexler in ninth and 10th-place, respectively.

As for the men's team, Fredrick Johannson took second for the Ospreys with his 8:40.76 finish in the 3000m. Jimmy Fitzpatrick had an eighth-place finish in the mile with a time of 4:30.62.

Who's Hot: Senior Amanda Davey should pick things up right where she left off last season and continue to lead the way for UNF. Last year, Davey earned all-conference honors in the 3k and 5k events and was named a member of the all-conference 4x400m relay team. Freshmen SaLydia James and Alicen Livingston are a couple of new faces to keep an eye on this season, as they should make an immediate impact on the team's success.

James holds Bishop Kenny High School's record for both the 200m (25.28) and the 400m with a time of 56.65. SaLydia also earned a district championship in the 100m and 400m in 2005-06 and helped Bishop Kenny win the district championships in 2004-07. While at Clearwater Central Catholic, Alicen Livingston earned a district championship in 200m and 400m in 2004-07, and she was a state finalist in the 400m in 2005 finishing in ninth-place.

Sophomore Sammy Palmer looks to anchor the men's team with the help of sophomore transfer Will Pearce, who comes to UNF from Florida.

Notables: The Lady Ospreys look for their returning high jump conference champion Stroder to have similar success in her new event the long jump. The Ospreys will also be competing in the shot-put and javelin-throw events this Saturday for the first time in school history.

Quotable:

Amy Stroder on the long jump: “I'm looking forward to contributing to the team in a new way. I was unable to compete in the long jump last year due to some injuries, so this year I'm excited to get my shot.”

Assistant coach Julie Stackhouse on the 2008 season: “The sprinters are just excited to get back to competing. We had a lot of really good talent come in this past year, and we expect big things from them right away. This year we are able to compete in more events, which will help our overall scores and help to continue improving our class in the conference.”

Head coach Mark VanAlstyne on the Tom Jones Memorial Classic: “I try not to have any expectations because you just never know what to expect from your first meet of the year. Right now we are just trying to focus on competing and getting ourselves to a good starting point for the season.”

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