June 18, 2003
ATLANTA – On the heels of a runner-up finish in the high jump at last week’s NCAA Championships, Georgia Tech freshman Chaunte Howard leads a group of eight Yellow Jackets into the 2003 USA Track & Field National Championships and USATF National Junior Championships. The meet runs Thursday through Sunday at Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field in Palo Alto, Calif.
Howard, who tied for second place at NCAAs with a 6’1.50″ performance, will compete in both the junior and national championship high jumps. The two-time All-American and ACC Rookie of the Year owns a season-best mark of 6’2.25″ from the Penn Relays. Howard sports the sixth-best overall performance in the nation this year and ranks as the top junior competitor. Nike’s Tisha Waller owns the best jump in the nation with a 6’6.00″ mark.
Also competing for the women at nationals will be junior Amandi Rhett, who will run both the 100 and 200 meters, and sophomore Shanta Smith, who is set to tackle the triple jump. Rhett owns season-best times of 11.38 and 23.35, respectively, while Smith’s top performance is a 43’2.25″ leap. The top entry in the 100 meters is a 10.96 from Kelli White of Nike, and LaTasha Collander-Richardson, also of Nike, ranks among the top entries in the 200 meters. Yuliana Perez owns the top triple jump mark of 46’7.25″.
On the men’s side, All-Americans Bryan Swarn and Brendon Mahoney are the lone competitors in the national championships. Mahoney will compete in the 1500 meters, while Swarn goes in the 400 meters. Mahoney owns a qualifying time of 3:41.87 in the 1500 and will be competing against the likes of adidas’ Bryan Berryhill (3:36.53) and former Tech great David Krummenacker (3:37.83). Mahoney is also qualified in the 800 meters.
Swarn owns a qualifying time of 45.96 in the 400. The event’s top qualifiers include Nike’s Leonard Byrd (44.45) and Alvin Harrison (44.48).
Joining Howard in the junior championship, will be freshmen Brandy Depland, who will compete in the long jump and triple jump, Simone Parker, who will go in the discus. Depland owns the 11th-best mark (19’5.25″) in the long jump. On the men’s side freshman Rob Kuhn competes in the 1500 meters. His season-best performance of 3:52.73 ranks eighth entering the meet.
For more information on the championships, including a complete schedule of events, and event-by-event results, log on to www.usatf.com.
-GT-
