April 15, 2008

• 2008 ACC Track & Field Championship Site

GREENSBORO, N.C. - All 12 Atlantic Coast Conference teams will be in attendance this week for the 55th annual Men's and 22nd annual Women's Track & Field Championships, set to begin this Thursday, April 17, at George C. Griffin Track in Atlanta, Ga. The Florida State men and Virginia Tech women, who earned the league's indoor team titles earlier this year, enter looking to repeat as outdoor champs in 2008.

The Seminole men, ranked sixth in the latest national polls, posted 166.5 points to earn the 2007 team title in College Park, Md. That team, which would go on to earn its second-straight national championship, won individual titles in six of 21 events at the ACC's championship meet to outdistance second-place Clemson by nearly 50 points.

Led by longtime head coach Bob Braman, the 2008 edition of the `Noles will look to earn the school's fourth consecutive outdoor championship, and the sixth in the past seven years. Top performers for FSU in this outdoor season include sprinters Michael Ray Garvin and Charles Clark, who enter with the league's top times of 2008 in the 200- and 400-meter dash, respectively. The team also features hurdler Drew Brunson, who set an ACC record in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Luke Gunn, the league's 3,000-meter indoor champion, and Gonzalo Barroilhet, who earned the league's Indoor Field Performer and Freshman of the Year awards after setting a conference record in the heptathlon at the indoor championships.

On the women's side, the Hokies will face some stiff competition from seventh-ranked Miami and eighth-ranked FSU in the effort to win their second ACC outdoor title in a row. Miami, the league's outdoor champ in 2005 and 2006, boasts a pair of the nation's top sprinters in Krista Simkins and Kristy Whyte, and two outstanding hurdlers in Ti'erra Brown and Takecia Jameson. The Hurricanes' Khadija Talley, as well, is a favorite in the throws after breaking the league's all-time discus record last week.

The `Noles, who finished second at the 2008 ACC Indoor Championships, claim the league's top long jump and triple jump performer of 2008 in freshman Kim Williams. Williams, who earned the indoor triple jump title back in February, is joined by sprinter Dana Massiah and distance runner Pilar McShine as top performers of the 2008 outdoor season for FSU.

The Hokies, who enter the championship weekend ranked 10th nationally by the USTFCCCA, are led by sprinters Britni Spruill and Queen Harrison and hurdler Kristi Castlin. The 2008 NCAA indoor runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles, Castlin blazed a time of 12.81 seconds to tie the league's all-time 100-meter hurdles record earlier this season. Tech also brings one of the ACC's top distance runners in junior Tasmin Fanning, and two of the conference's top performers in the throws, Brittany Pryor and Dorotea Habazin. Freshman pole vaulter and indoor champion Kelly Phillips will look to earn her first outdoor pole vault title this weekend.

Events will open at the 2008 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships this Thursday, April 17, at 9:00 a.m., and are scheduled to conclude with the presentation of awards at approximately 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 19. Admission to all sessions is free of charge. The three-day event will be available for viewing on the internet via www.ACCSelect.com.