June 22, 2011
ATLANTA – Just a few weeks removed from the NCAA Championships, four current and former Georgia Tech track and field athletes will compete in national meets across the globe.
Three Yellow Jackets will head to Eugene, Ore. for the USATF Championship from June 23-26 while one heads east for the Calabar Championships in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria running from June 23-25.
Recent graduates Joanna Wright and Alphonso Jordan join Chaunte (Howard) Lowe at the USATF National Championships at Hayward Field. Wright, who is coming off of a USTFCCCA Second Team All-America performance with her ninth place finish in the pole vault at the NCAA Championships, will compete on Sunday, June 26 at Noon with 17 other hopefuls.
Jordan, a three-time All-American in the triple jump as a Yellow Jacket, will hope to continue his success in the event at the meet on Thursday, June 23 at 3:55 p.m. Fellow alumnus, (Howard) Lowe will try and continue her success in the high jump at the meet on Friday at 3:50 p.m. Last year, Lowe tied or broke the American record for the high jump three times, clearing 2.05 meters (6-8.75) to set a new American record.
The other Jacket in action on the weekend is Leslie Njoku who will be making her first appearance at the Calabar Championships in Nigeria. Though Njoku calls Jersey City, N.J. home, her family is originally from Nigeria. This is the first appearance at the games for Njoku who will compete in the 400-meter hurdles, where, like Wright, she recently received Second Team All-America honors while setting a school record time of 57.14 seconds in the event.
