Posted: July 5, 2006

Athletics: Team USA to compete at NACAC U23 Championships

INDIANAPOLIS - Many of America's finest collegiate athletes will compete for Team USA at the 2006 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) U-23 Track and Field Championships July 5-7 at the Panamerican Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Five hundred athletes from 28 countries will compete in the fourth edition of the championships. The NACAC Athletic Association's U23 Championships are held every two years in one of the 32 member nations of the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association, one of six regional athletics associations affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Team USA wins big at 2004 NACAC

Team USA dominated the action at the 2004 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Track & Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.

More than 400 athletes from 28 countries were on hand for the competition, where U.S. athletes won 28 gold medals, 21 silver medals and 9 bronze medals, for an overall total of 58 medals.

Team USA fell short of the medal tally amassed from the 2002 NACAC squad that competed in San Antonio, Texas. At that event U.S. athletes won 11 competitions on the final day to finish with 30 gold medals to lead the overall medal table with 67.

Team USA stars look for repeat performance

Consisting of many of the country's top emerging-elite athletes, this year's squad will feature eight NCAA champions, three of whom are defending their 2004 NACAC titles. The following is glimpse at some of the Team USA stars to keep an eye on:

*Two-time NCAA champion and two-time USA Outdoor runner-up Dana Pounds will go for gold in the women's javelin. Pounds will be defending her title from 2004.

*Two-time NCAA Division II champion Keith Moffatt will return to defend his title in the men's high jump.

*NCAA champion Ryan Brown will vie for the crown in the men's 800 meters. Joining him in the hunt will be Duane Solomon, who finished fifth at NCAAs.

*Amy Lia, fresh off her victory at the NCAA Championships, looks to take on the field in the women's 1,500 meters.

*Rhodes Scholar and NCAA champion Garrett Johnson will contend for the title in the men's shot put.

*NCAA 200 meter champion Shalonda Solomon will race for top honors in the women's 100 and 200 meters.

*Jackie Johnson hope to ride her victory wave from the NCAA Championships a little bit longer and is back to defend her crown in the women's heptathlon.

*NCAA Division II champion Andrew Vogelsberg, the 2004 NACAC champion, will face stiff competition from compatriot and NCAA Division I runner-up Eric Brown.

Also keep an eye out for 2003 Pan Am Junior 110 and 400 meter hurdle champion Kenneth Ferguson, who will compete in the men's 400mH. David Nevillle, who finished third at NCAA's and the USA Outdoor Championships, will be a force in the men's 400 meters. 2005 USA Outdoor champion Erica McClain will compete in the women's triple jump, and Michelle Carter, the 2004 World Junior gold medalist, is a favorite in the women's shot put. Leonel Manzano, who finished fourth at NCAAs and an astonishing third at the USA Outdoor Championships, will compete in the men's 1,500 meters.

Head coach for the U.S. men's team is longtime William Penn (Pa.) HS coach Tim Hickey, and the women's head coach is Barbara Edmondson, who was an assistant coach for the 2002 IAAF World Cup. Head managers are Doug Wells (men) and Kim Keenan-Kirkpatrick (women).

Team USA Roster - 2006 NACAC U23 Track and Field Championships

Athlete (Hometown, Current Residence) - School/Affiliation

Men

100m: Carlos Moore (Inglewood, Calif., N/A) - SoCal Cheetahs
Chris Hargrett (Orlando, Fla., Talahassee, Fla.) - Florida A&M
200m: Otis McDaniel (San Antonio, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas) - Texas Christian Univ.
Mike Cooley (Prichard, Ala., Tuscaloosa, Ala.) - Alabama
400m: David Neville (Merrillville, Ind., Bloomington, Ind.) - Indiana
Lionel Larry (Compton, Calif., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC
800m: Ryan Brown (Renton, Wash., Seattle, Wash.) - Washington
Duane Solomon (Lompoc, Calif., Los Angeles, Calf.) - USC
1,500m: Shane Stroup (Highland, Md., Gainesville, Fla.) - Florida
Leonel Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas, Austin, Texas) - Texas 
5,000m: Aaron Aguayo (Phoenix, Ariz., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU 
Giliat Ghebray (Union City, Calif., Berkeley, Calif.) UC Berkeley
10,000m: John Moore (Olympia, Wash., Portland, Ore.) - Portland 
David Jankowski (Idaho Falls, Idaho, Stillwater, Okla.) - Oklahoma State
110mH: Jason Richardson (Cedar Hill, Texas, Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina
Dominic Berger (Mitchellville, Md., College Park, Md.) - Maryland 
400mH: Ken Ferguson (Detroit, Mich., Los Angeles, Calif.) - adidas 
Reuben McCoy (Sicklerville, N.J., Auburn, Ala.) - Auburn 
3,000m Steeple chase: Ryan Warrenburg (Franklin, Ind., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU 
Corey Nowitzke (Monroe, Mich., Ypsilanti, Mich.) - Eastern Michigan
20 km race walk: Patrick Stroupe (Fayette, Mo., Fayette, Mo.) - Central Missouri 
Zachary Pollinger (Mahwah, N.J., Cambridge, Mass.) - Harvard
High Jump: Keith Moffatt (Newport News, Va., Newport News, Va.) -
Morehouse 
Dusty Jonas (LaVernia, Texas, Lincoln, Neb.) - Nebraska
Pole Vault: Jimmie Heath (Rio Hondo, Texas, Lake Charles, La.) - McNeese State
Brad Gebauer (Bad Axe, Mich., East Lansing, Mich.) - Michigan State 
Long Jump: Reggie Lazenby (Tyler, Texas, Nacogdoches, Texas) - Stephen F. Austin 
Michael Morrison (Willingboro, N.J., Gainesville, Fla.) - Florida 
Triple Jump: Mike Whitehead (Norristown, Pa., Ann Arbor, Mich.) - Michigan
John Temidara (Santa Fe Springs, Calif., Long Beach, Calif.) - Long Beach State
Shot Put: Garrett Johnson (Tampa, Fla., Tallahassee, Fla.) - Florida State
Russ Winger (Colorado Springs, Colo., Moscow, Idaho) - Idaho 
Discus Throw: Adam Kuehl (Monmouth, N.J., Tucson, Ariz.) - Arizona 
Rashaud Scott (N/A, Mesa, Ariz.) - Mesa CC
Hammer Throw: Jake Dunkleberger (Smyrna, Ga., Auburn, Ala.) - Auburn 
Nick Owens (Shelton, Wash., Chapel Hill, N.C.) UNC
Javelin: Eric Brown (Baldwin City, Kan., Fayetteville, Ark.) - Arkansas 
Andrew Vogelsberg (Home, Kan., Emporia, Kan.) - Emporia State 
Decathlon: Chris Richardson (Pensacola, Fla., Long Beach, Calif.) - Long Beach State
Brandon Hoskins (Garden City, Texas, Lynchburg, Va.) - Liberty 
4x100m relay pool: Garry Jones (Oakland, Calif., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC 
Greg Bolden (Morrow, Ga., Tallahassee, Fla.) - Florida State 
4x400m relay pool: Reggie Dardar (Cecilia, La., Baton Rouge, La.) - LSU 
Carey LaCour (Humble, Texas, Houston, Texas) - Houston 

Women 
100m: Shalonda Solomon (Inglewood, Calif, Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina 
Cleo Tyson (Huntsville, Texas, Knoxville, Tenn.) - Tennessee 
200m: Shalonda Solomon (Inglewood, Calif, Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina
Antonette Carter (Concord, Calif., Berkeley, Calif.) - UC Berkeley 
400m: Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y., State College, Pa.) - Penn State 
Natasha Hastings (Rosedale, N.Y., Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina
800m: Alysia Johnson (Canyon Country, Calif., Berkeley, Calif.) - UC Berkeley 
Leslie Treherne (Chesapeake, Va., Knoxville, Tenn.) - Tennessee 
1,500m: Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco, Calif., Durham, N.C.) - Duke 
Amy Lia (Bothell, Wash., Seattle, Wash.) - Washington 
5,000m: Desiraye Osburn (Lyndon, Kan., Wichita, Kan.) - Wichita State 
Jenna Kingma (San Luis Obispo, Calif., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU 
10,000m: Stephanie Rothstein (Phoenix, Ariz., Santa Barbara, Calif.) - UC Santa Barbara 
100mH: Dawn Harper (East St. Louis, Ill., Los Angeles, Calif.) - UCLA 
Ashley Lodree (Richmond, Calif., Seattle, Wash.) - Washington 
400mH: Erin Crawford (Hillsborough, N.J., Charlottesville, Va.) - UVA 
Julianna Reed (Gibsonia, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa.) - Pittsburgh 
3,000m steeple chase: Cassie King (Kernersville, N.C., Chapel Hill, N.C.) - UNC 
Anna Willard (Greenwood, Maine, Providence, R.I.) - Brown 
10 km race walk: Maria Michta (Nesconset, N.Y., N/A) - Walk USA 
Lauren Davis (Zion, Ill., Parkside, Wisc.) - Wisconsin, Parkside 
High Jump: Sarah Wilfred (Brockton, Mass., Ithaca, N.Y.) - Cornell 
Natalie Sako (Parma, Ohio, Akron, Ohio) - Akron 
Pole Vault: Jodi Unger (Abilene, Texas, Fayetteville, Ark.) - Arkansas 
Emily Enders (Snohomish, Wash., Eugene, Ore.) - Univ. of Oregon
Long Jump: Kierra Foster (West Palm Beach, Fla., College Park, Md.) - Maryland
Brenda Faluade (Katy, Texas, Miami, Fla.) - Miami 
Triple Jump: Yvette Lewis (Newport News, Va., Hampton, Va.) - Hampton 
Erica McClain (Plano, Texas, Palo Alto, Calif.) - Stanford 
Shot Put: Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas, Austin, Texas) - Texas 
Amarachi Ukabam (Creve Coeur, Mo., Carbondale, Ill.) - Southern Illinois
Discus Throw: Kate Hutchinson (San Clemente, Calif., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC 
Amarachi Ukabam (Creve Coeur, Mo., Carbondale, Ill.) - Southern Illinois
Hammer Throw: Britney Henry (Spokane, Wash., Eugene, Ore.) - Univ. of Oregon 
Brittany Riley (Flossmoor, Ill., Carbondale, Ill.) - Southern Illinois 
Javelin: Dana Pounds (Lexington, Ky., Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Air Force 
Kara Patterson (Vancouver, Wash., West Lafayette, Ind.) - Purdue 
Heptathlon: Jackie Johnson (Yuma, Ariz., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU 
Tracy Partain (Springfield, Mo., Springfield, Mo.) - Missouri State 
4x100m relay pool: Brooklyn Morris (Houston, Texas, Baton Rouge, La.) - LSU 
Shareese Woods (Fort Lee, Va., Charlotte, N.C.) - UNC Charlotte 
Jessica Onyepunuka (Peoria, Ariz., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC 
4x400m relay pool: Ashley Kidd (St. Petersburg, Fla., Atlanta, Ga.) - Georgia Tech 
Deonna Lawrence (Elk Grove, Calif., Baton Rouge, La.) - LSU 

For more information on the 2006 U23 NACAC Track and Field Championships, visit www.usatf.org.

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