April 18, 2007

Greenville, S.C. - The Furman men's and women's track and field teams will head to the 2007 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend to be held at ASU Track at Kidd Brewer Stadium on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone, N. C. Several Furman student-athletes on both the men's and women's side will be in the hunt for first-place medals.

Running in her final SoCon championship, senior McKenzie Sharpe is looking to become a repeat champion in the 800m run. Last year, Sharpe not only won the event, she set a new school record with her time of 2:11.24. This season, Sharpe owns the third-best time among conference performers with a run of 2:15.57 at the Stanford Invitational. Juniors Holly Stewart and Mo Campbell will both aim to finish in the top of the pack in the 10000m race. Campbell recently finished second in the event at the Clemson Relays. Classmate Page Bridges broke her own school record in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Furman Invitational, finishing in 11:10.32 and bettering the old mark by nine seconds. Bridges time is currently the third-best among league performers this season.

In the field events, two-sport athlete Chibuzo Aguocha holds Furman records in the outdoor long jump and triple jump. She broke her own records set last year with marks of 5.80m in the long jump at the 2007 Furman Invitational, and 11.99m in the triple jump at the 2007 Winthrop Duals. Aguocha, also a member of the Paladin volleyball team, ranks second in the conference this season in the long jump and third in the triple jump. She picked up two second-place finishes in these events at the SoCon Indoor Championships in February.

On the men's side, sophomore Patrick Morgan will look to better a second-place finish in the 800m run at the 2006 SoCon Championships. Morgan's best time of this season, a 1:52.72 run at the Stanford Invitational, currently ranks first in the conference. Two Paladins will compete in the 10000m run -- Joseph Tenini and Alex Plasencia. Both of these athletes have put up some strong distance performances as of late. Tenini won the 5000m at the Furman Invite, with Plasencia coming in second. Tenini also finished third in the 1500m last Saturday at the Clemson Relays.

In the 3000m Steeplechase, senior Eric Albrecht holds the best mark in the conference with his winning time of 9:29.86 at the Furman Invitational. That mark is nearly 15 seconds better than the time he ran last year at the SoCon meet.

Senior David Moseley should highlight Furman performers in the field events. Moseley, the school record-holder in the javelin throw, took first place in three of the four meets he competed in this spring. Moseley's season-best mark of 56.16m at the Stanford Invitational is also the best mark of anyone in the SoCon.

The 2007 SoCon Championships will begin on Saturday, April 21 and conclude on Sunday, April 22. The Furman women finished in fifth place last year with 58 points, while the men ended competition in seventh place with 40 points. Fans can follow all the action on www.soconsports.com.