Six Auburn Track And Field Athletes Head To NCAA Indoor Championships - AuburnTigers.com

Six Auburn Track And Field Athletes Head To NCAA Indoor Championships Competition takes place Friday and Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

March 10, 2010

AUBURN, Ala. -

Complete Meet Notes in PDF Format

Six members of the Auburn men's and women's track and field teams will participate this Friday and Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Three men and three women will be competing in a total of eight events for the Tigers.

Auburn will be looking to add to the eight top-10 team finishes it has had at the NCAA Indoor Championships under 13th-year head coach Ralph Spry. Tiger athletes have earned 11 individual national championships and 90 All-American honors at the NCAA indoor meet under Spry's direction.

The Auburn women enter the NCAA Indoor Championships ranked No. 12 nationally in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's top 25 rankings, while the men are ranked No. 17.

"We have a small group going, but a very talented group," said Spry. "The goal this weekend is for us to leave with all six athletes having earned All-American honors. If we can do that, we're going to score some pretty good points and we'd have a shot at finishing in the top 10 with both teams. All six athletes that are competing are high on the national list, so I think they all have a good shot at being All-Americans, and if we can do that, we'll have a pretty solid outcome."

The Tigers have one of the top sprinters in the field on both the men's and women's sides. For the men, sophomore Marcus Rowland enters the competition ranked tied for second in the field in the 60 meters (6.60) and fourth in the 200 meters (20.76). For the women, junior Sheniqua Ferguson enters the meet ranked third in both the 60 (7.22) and the 200 (23.14).

Also for the women, junior Joanna Atkins is fifth in the field in the 400 meters (52.77) and was the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Champion in that event, while sophomore Nivea Smith is ranked sixth in the 200 meters (23.32).

The other two men's competitors include sophomore Ryan Fleck, who is ranked ninth in the high jump (2.22 meters, 7-3.25) and was the runner-up at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and redshirt freshman Harry Adams, who is tied for 11th in the 60 meters (6.65).

Complete information on the meet at the Randall Tyson Track Center, including ticket information and a schedule of events, can be found by visiting www.razorbacksports.com.