Feb. 16, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's men's and women's track teams will head to Kingston, RI this weekend for the 2007 Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championships. At the 2006 Championships, the Hawk women placed third in the field of 11. The men's squad took fourth. Charlotte won both the men's and women's titles in 2006.

For the women, senior captains Valerie Ramirez and Julie Lentz will look to improve on their performances from a year ago. Ramirez took seventh place in the 55m hurdles, her signature event. Lentz was fourth in the 400m, while fellow senior Amanda Guthridge was fourth in the 500m. Senior cross country captain Suzie McHenry was sixth in the 5,000m in 2006 and will be expected to compete for the conference title. Sophomore Natalie Miller was second in the high jump, and with another year of experience under her belt, should vie for first-place honors as well.

The men's squad will send a defending champion to the meet in senior Teddy Meyers. Meyers took last season's 5,000m title in 14:40.89. Senior co-captain Joe Witiw performed well at last year's Championships, placing third in the 500m and running the lead leg of the fifth-place 4x800 squad. His relay teammate, sophomore Brendan Kearney, placed third in the 800m in 2006 and should be at the front of the pack again this season. Junior Bobby Staten has run extremely well this season and should be in line for a top finish in the sprint races.

Competition begins Saturday morning at 9:00 with the men's high jump. The women's portion starts at 1:50 PM.