Clemson Track & Field Team to Compete in NCAA East Regional this Weekend

May 27, 2009

2009 NCAA East Regional Notes

Setting the Scene: 2009 NCAA East Regional Clemson will travel 11 student-athletes to the NCAA East Region Championships this weekend in Greensboro, NC. The meet, which features the most schools of the four track & field regions, will be held at the Irwin Belk Track Facility on the campus of North Carolina A&T.

The regional meet system once again serves as the qualifying path to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The top five finishers in individual events and top three relay teams from each region advance to the national meet.

The Tiger roster will be highlighted by four men’s sprinters making the trip. C.J. Spiller, Justin Murdock, and Trenton Guy in the 100m and 4x100m relay events.

In the men’s field events, George Fields and Josh Fowler will compete in the horizontal jumps, while Alex Padgett is slated for both the shot put and hammer throw.

Kristine Scott will be the lone women’s sprinter making the trip for Clemson. She will compete in the 200m.

Kat Majester will compete in the pole vault.

The first action for the Tigers this weekend will be the men’s shot put Friday at 3 PM.

Clemson Entries – Friday 3:00 PM – Men’s Shot Put (Padgett) 3:00 PM – Women’s Pole Vault (Kennedy, Majester) 4:15 PM – Men’s 4x100m Relay prelims (Murdock, Spiller, Guy, Ford) 5:00 PM – Men’s Long Jump (Fields) 6:20 PM – Men’s 100m Dash prelims (Ford, Guy, Murdock, Spiller) 8:40 PM – Women’s 200m Dash prelims (Scott)

Clemson Entries – Saturday 11:00 AM – Women’s Javelin Throw (Buchholz) 11:00 AM – Men’s Hammer Throw (Padgett) 1:00 PM – Men’s Triple Jump (Fowler) 5:00 PM – Women’s High Jump (Buchholz) 5:10 PM – Men’s 4x100m Relay (final) 6:10 PM – Men’s 100m Dash (final) 7:00 PM – Women’s 200m Dash (final)

Clemson’s Regional History The 2009 season marks the seventh year of the regional qualifying system for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Member institutions are divided into four regions – East, Mideast, Midwest, and West. The East Region is track & field’s largest, as it includes over 100 schools from Florida to Maine.

Clemson’s men have finished among the top six teams each of the first six years of the regional format. The best finish for the men has been fourth place, on three occasions. In 2008, the Tigers put together a fifth-place effort behind the championship performances of Travis Padgett in the 100m dash and Mitch Greeley in the pole vault.

The best finish for the women’s team since the regional format was adopted was in 2003, the inaugural season. Clemson was eighth overall with 26 points. The women have placed among the top 25 teams in the East in five of the six seasons.

Clemson’s Regional Champions The Tiger track & field program has produced eight individual champions at the NCAA East Region Championships – six on the men’s side and a pair for the women.

Gisele Oliveira are the only multiple regional champions for Clemson. Oliveira won the women’s triple jump in 2004-05, while Padgett claimed the 100m dash in 2006 and 2008.

In 2003, the first season of the regional format, Clemson’s men won three events. Airese Currie won the 100m dash, Itay Magidi claimed the steeplechase, and George Kitchens snagged the long jump championship.