Posted: February 9, 2005

Athletics: Nation’s Top Collegians Go Head-to-Head With World’s Best

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Not only will track fans have the opportunity to watch the world’s best professional athletes on Friday night at the 2005 Powered by Tyson Invitational, they can also see some of the country’s top collegiate athletes compete.

The men’s 200 meters will have the potential to produce a new American record with four of the nation’s rising sprinting stars coming out of the blocks. Arkansas’ own sophomore Wallace Spearmon Jr., is currently leading the world with a time of 20.36 that he ran at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 21. He is also the national outdoor champion in the event. Houston’s Stanford Rout earned runner-up honors behind Spearmon in Austin and has a top time in 2005 of 21.31.

Former Kansas standout Leo Bookman is in his first year as a professional. Representing Nike, he enters the event as the 2004 NCAA indoor 200-meter champion. South Carolina’s Rodney Martin completes the talented field and recently registered a season-best time of 20.85 last weekend at the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City.

The men’s 60-meter dash is not to be missed with Razorback junior Tyson Gay going up against athletes such as Terrence Trammell, Darvis Patton and Mardy Scales. The Powered by Tyson Invitational will be the first time Gay has competed during the 2005 indoor campaign and he is considered the top collegiate 60-meter man in the country.

Trammell is a two-time Olympic silver-medalist hurdler and the 2002 USA indoor 60-meter sprint champion, while Patton is the 2003 world outdoor 200-meter silver medalist. Scales, a former Middle Tennessee star, gave Gay a run for his money in the 100 meters at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships and finished in a close second place.

The men’s 400 meters features a who’s who of top American talent, plus a world indoor champion. Teen sensation LaShawn Merritt of East Carolina is one of the most promising youngsters in an increasingly youthful U.S. 400-meter corps. USA Track & Field’s 2004 Verizon Youth Athlete of the Year, Merritt won three gold medals at the 2004 World Junior championships, taking the 400 meters and anchoring the 4x100m and 4x400m relays to world junior records – and gold medals. Merritt got his collegiate career off to a roaring start last weekend when he ran a 2005 world-leading time of 45.94, earning USATF and USTCA Athlete of the Week honors.

The dominant Division III athlete of his era, the 22-year-old Andrew Rock, won three DIII outdoor titles at Wisconsin-La Crosse before making the 2004 Olympic Team 4x400m relay pool by virtue of his 6th-place finish at the Olympic Trials. He ran in the semifinal round of the relay at the Olympics to take home gold. But it is a Grenadine that the Americans will most have to watch at the Powered by Tyson Invitational, as 2004 world indoor champion and 2003 Pan Am Games bronze medalist Alleyne Francique takes to the track.

The always popular distance medley relay will have four of the top ten teams in the NCAA fighting it out for bragging rights in what will be a fantastic preview of the national championships. Indiana recently jumped to No. 2 in the country and the Hoosiers the NCAA’s top two-ranked milers, Sean and John Jefferson, at their disposal. Arkansas is third and was the national runner-up last year. The Hogs are more than ready to run a fast time as they have only provisionally qualified in the event this season.

The Razorbacks’ long-time rival, Stanford, will be making the trip to Fayetteville as the fourth-ranked team. The University of Arizona will also provide strong competition and it is No. 7 coming into the weekend.

The Powered by Tyson Invitational will be held on Feb. 11 from 7-9 p.m. at the Randal Tyson Track Center. It will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Saturday, Feb. 12 8-9:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-766-4626.

About Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. [NYSE: TSN], founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork and the second-largest food company in the Fortune 500. The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products, which are marketed under the “Powered by Tyson™” strategy. Tyson is the recognized market leader in the retail and foodservice markets it serves, providing products and service to customers throughout the U.S and more than 80 countries. Tyson has approximately 114,000 Team Members employed at more than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world.