Teams Participating: Akron, Alabama, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Ark.-Little Rock, Ark.-Pine Bluff, Auburn, Austin Peay, Ball State, Belmont, Bowling Green, Bradley, Butler, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, DePaul, Detroit Mercy, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, East Tennessee State, Grambling, Ill.-Chicago, Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana, Indiana State, Jackson State, Jacksonville State, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, La.-Lafayette, ULM, Louisville, Loyola (Ill.), Louisiana State, Middle Tennessee, State, Marquette, McNeese State, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Mississippi Valley State, Missouri, Missouri State, UMKC, Murray State, Northern Illinois, Nicholls State, Northwestern State (La.), Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Purdue, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Southern Miss, Samford, SE Louisiana, SE Missouri, Southern, Tenn.-Chattanooga, Tennessee, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, UAB, Wis.-Milwaukee, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Western Illinois, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Youngstown State.
THE MEET Preparations are underway at the University of Missouri\'s Audrey J. Walton Stadium in advance of this weekend\'s NCAA Track & Field Mideast Regional that begins this Friday. Nearly 900 athletes, representing 88 different Universities that span 13 states will be in Columbia, looking for the \"Gateway to Sacramento\", the golden ticket to California and the NCAA Championships that a top-five individual finish will bring.
REGIONAL EXPERIENCE Three Warhawks, Walt Williams, Kendrick Shepherd and Bola Shoyebi, are returning to the NCAA Regional meet for the second straight year ... Last year, Williams qualified is the discus and placed 12th overall with a throw of 53.27 meters (174-9.00) ... Shoyebi qualified for the 200-meter dash as a rookie on the ULM track team and finished 14th (24.17) and unable to advance to the finals ... Shepherd qualified this season with Malcom Bosworth, Andrew Opata and Mychal Word as a member of the ULM 4x400 relay team after qualifying last season as an individual in the 400-meter dash ... Shepherd finished 29th with a time of 47.88.
YOUTH SERVED Of ULM\'s 10 athletes traveling to Columbia, Mo. for the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional meet only two, seniors Walt Williams and Maya Aden, will not return next season ... ULM is sending five sophomores (Heather Davis, Bola Shoyebi, Destiny Montemayor, Andrew Opata and Mychal Word) along with one freshman (Natasha Washington) ... juniors Kendrick Shepherd, a two-time qualifier, and Malcom Bosworth will also return next season ... seven of the 10 are first-time qualifiers but with Washington making her first appearance and Shoyebi already making her second there is a strong indication ULM could send a larger contingent to the regional meet in 2008.
HOW ABOUT FIELD & TRACK? The Warhawk group headed to the Mideast regional will be participating in a total of five out of the eight field events (shot put, discus, javelin, long jump, high jump, triple jump, pole vault and hammer throw) ... Walt Williams will compete in both the men\'s discus and shot put, Heather Davis in the women\'s high jump, Natasha Washington in the women\'s triple jump and Destiny Montemayor in the women\'s hammer throw.
WILLIAMS MOST OUTSTANDING FIELD PERFORMER Walt Williams was named the Sun Belt Conference Men\'s Most Outstanding Field Performer for his showing at the 2007 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet this weekend ... Williams, a senior from Carriacou, Grenada, won the discus and shot put and placed in the javelin to earn 24 points for the ULM men\'s team.
SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS The Warhawk men finished seventh overall with 68 points, while the Warhawk women\'s team placed fifth with 84.50 points ... Middle Tennessee won the Sun Belt men\'s title with 130 points, while Western Kentucky won the women\'s title with 143 points ...Walt Williams was named the Sun Belt Conference Men\'s Most Outstanding Field Performer after winning the discus and shot put and placed in the javelin to earn 24 points for the ULM men\'s team ... Destiny Montemayor won the hammer throw and set a Sun Belt championship record with a toss of 54.10 meters (177-06) ... Bola Shoyebi earned a second trip to the NCAA Mideast Regionals and all-Sun Belt honors with third-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter races ... Shoyebi ran a qualifying time of 11.74 in the 100 and 23.68 in the 200 ... Maya Aden picked up his second all-Sun Belt honor with a third-place time of 3:54.60 in the 1,500-meter run ... Matt Brophy picked up points for ULM coming in right behind Aden in fourth with a time of 3:56.44 ... Aden also picked up additional points for the Warhawks in the 5,000-meter run with a sixth-place finish ... Andrew Opata picked up his first all-Sun Belt honor with a third-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.96 ... Ilima Sam Fong earned all-Sun Belt honors for her second-place finish in the javelin with a throw of 43.33 meters (142-02).
THE INDIVIDUALS Walt Williams (Discus and Shotput) Shotput Career Best: 17.26m (56-7.50), Apr. 28, 2007 Season Best: 17.26m (56-7.50), Apr. 28, 2007 - 67th National/17th Mideast Discus Career Best: 54.51m (178-10.00), Mar. 28, 2007 Season Best: 54.51m (178-10.00), Mar. 28, 2007 - 45th National/10th Mideast Regional Meet Best: 53.27m (174-9.00) - 12th Maya Aden (3,000-meter Steeplechase) Career Best: 54.51m (178.10.00), May 12, 2007 Season Best: 9:03.00, May 12, 2007 - 68th National/18th Mideast Heather Davis (High Jump) Career Best: 1.80m (5-10.75), Mar. 23, 2007 Season Best: 1.80m (5-10.75), Mar. 23, 2007 - 33rd National/9th Mideast Natasha Washington (Triple Jump) Career Best: 12.41m (40-8.75), Apr. 28, 2007 Season Best: 12.41m (40-8.75), Apr. 28, 2007 - 102st National/23rd Mideast Destiny Montemayor (Hammer throw) Career Best: 54.10m (177-6.00), May 13, 2007 Season Best: 54.10m (177-6.00), May 13, 2007 - 91st National/29th Mideast Bola Shoyebi (100- and 200-meter dash) 100-meter Career Best: 11.74, May 13, 2007 Season Best: 11.74, May 13, 2007 - 98th National/28th Mideast 200-meter Career Best: 23.74, May 13, 2007 Season Best: 23.74, May 13, 2007 - 61st National/23rd Mideast Regional Meet Best: 24.17 - 14th THE RELAY Malcom Bosworth, Kendrick Shepherd, Andrew Opata, Mychal Word (4x400-meter Relay) Season Best: 3:09.17, Apr. 28, 2007 - 63rd National/19th Mideast