April 29, 2008
PITTSBURGH--Members of the Pitt track and field teams will venture to the campus of Villanova University this weekend to take part in the 2008 Big East Outdoor Championships. The women's squad will send 28 athletes to the three-day competition, while the men boast 17 contestants that have qualified for the championships in their respective events.
Among those in competition will be reigning women's long jump champion Janessa Murphy. Murphy (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) has a total of four Big East crown's to her credit, including the past three long jump titles. She will look to make it four straight this weekend in Philadelphia.
Two other Panthers who have garnered a great deal of success at the Big East meets are the Calhoun sisters, Shantea and Shanea. Both put up strong showings at last year's outdoor meet, as they walked away with All-Big East honors for the third time in their three Big East outdoor meets. Earlier this year at the Big East Indoor meet, Shantea was honored as one of two Track Performers of the Year by the league after claiming the 200- and 60-meter dash championships. Both sisters will be competing in four events over the weekend for the Panthers.
The men will be led by their two All-Americans, Sam Bair and Mike Wray. Bair (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler), a three-time All-America honoree, will step to the track to for the 1500 meters as well as the 4x800-meter relay while Wray (Philadelphia, Pa./Central), a two-time All-American, will take part in the 110-meter hurdles and the 4x100-meter relay. Jumper Eric Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Gateway) and throws specialist A.J. Kielinski (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic) are two other notables in the Panther lineup this weekend as both are coming off all-conference honors at the indoor meet.
Action is set to begin on Friday, May 2 and will continue until Sunday, May 4. For a complete listing of all the Panthers that will be in action this weekend, please visit the links below:
Women's Meet List
Men's Meet List
2008 Indoor Track & Field Championships
- The Big East has recently posted photos from this year's indoor championships that can be purchased at the newly created photo store.
- On-demand footage from the live video shot at The Armory is available by clicking here.
- The Big East has continued to improve its all-inclusive championship central page. Check it out.
2008 Outdoor Track & Field Championships
- The Big East will have live video for the upcoming outdoor track & field championships. Fans can subscribe by clicking here.
- Photos will be available for sale a few weeks after the conclusion of the championships. They can access them by visiting here.
- The outdoor version of championship central has just been posted. All related content to the 2008 outdoor championships will be linked on this site.
