Marshall Track Teams Tune Up For The Mid-American Conference Championships With Trip To Indiana

5/11/2001

Marshall University's track and field team will tune-up for the upcoming Mid-American Conference Championships by participating in Indiana University's Billy Hayes Invitational Saturday at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex and E.C. Billy Hayes Track in Bloomington, Ind.


The Billy Hayes Invitational gathers over 600 athletes from over 20 schools including Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Notre Dame, not to mention unattached professional and amateur athletes.


The unscored competition begins at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 12 with the men's javelin, shot put, high jump, and the men's and women's long jump all coinciding. The first running event will be the men's 3,000m steeplechase at 12:25 p.m.


Marshall's Casey Batey has established himself as one of the top distance runners in the region and is expected to lead the Thundering Herd men this weekend. The Milton, West Virginia, native provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships by finishing fourth in the 3,000m Steeple Chase at the prestigious Penn Relays two weeks ago with a school record and MAC best time of 8:46.44. Batey also owns the MAC's top 1,500m time this season (3:48.32).


The Thundering Herd's strong core of throwers, led by Erin Compton, are expected to carry the women's team. Compton, a freshman from Oak Hill, West Virginia, shattered Marshall's school records in the hammer throw and the discus earlier this year. Her record hammer throw of 161-feet and six inches stands as the fourth best throw in the MAC this season and her mark of 149-6 in the discus is the second best mark in the league thus far.