May 27, 2004
Butler University will be well-represented at the 2004 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Mideast Regional Championships on Friday and Saturday, May 28-29, in Baton Rouge, La. The Bulldogs will have eight male athletes and two female athletes competing in the regional meet, which is a qualifying event for the NCAA Division I national championship.
Set to compete for the Bulldogs at LSU are seniors Gary Blackman and Brad Bennett, juniors Thomas Frazer, John Frazer, Nick Goodliffe, Oliver Laws, Andrew Sherman, Victoria Mitchell and Monika Schneider and sophomore Brandon Cook. The ten athletes have combined to qualify for the regional meet in 15 different events.
Mitchell is a qualifier in three events - the 1,500 meter run, the 3,000 meter steeplechase and the 5,000 meter run - though she will compete only in the steeplechase. Named the Outstanding Performer for Running Events at the Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championship, Mitchell posted a season-best time of 10:24.81 in the steeplechase. She'll be joined in the race on Saturday evening by Schneider, who has a best time of 10:51.13.
Blackman and Cook each qualified in two events. Blackman bettered the qualifying standard in both the 3,000 meter steeplechase and the 5,000 meter run. He will compete in the regional meet in the steeplechase, where he owns a season-best time of 8:48.03. Cook, a qualifier in both the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash, will run in just the 200 meter dash. He clocked a season-best time of 21.89 while winning the 200 at the league championship. Blackman will run on Saturday night, while Cook will compete in his first race on Friday. The finals for the 200 are slated for Saturday.
Bennett, Thomas Frazer, Laws and Goodliffe are entered in the 5,000 meter run at the regional competition. Frazer posted a season-best 14:02.23 in the event, while Laws, who has already qualified for the NCAA national meet in the 10,000 meter run, posted a 14:03.22. Goodliffe had a best time of 14:06.40. Bennett was the Horizon League 5,000 meter champ in 14:51.41. The 5,000 meter finals will be held on Friday evening.
Sherman and John Frazer will be the first Butler athletes to compete at the regionals. The two are entered in the 1,500 meter run, which has preliminaries slated for 4:45 p.m. (EST) on Friday. Sherman has posted a time of 3:45.81 in the event, while Frazer owns a best time of 3:47.84.