VCU men\'s track readies for CAA Championships

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth will be competing for its second Colonial Athletic Association Men's Track and Field Championship, and its first in nine years, this weekend on the campus of George Mason University. After coming just 24 points short of the title last season, the squad sends 30 top-eight seeds to Fairfax, including seven top-seeded entries. Eight athletes will score in each event during the meet.

As usual, the squad is very strong in the sprints and jumps. James Frierson (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), pictured (left), leads the Rams with three top-seeded marks. The sophomore is ranked number one in the 100m (10.60), 200m (21.40), and 400m (47.84).

Freshmen Jackie DeShazo (Mechanicsville, Va./Virginia Intermont) and Yaw Owusu-Boamah (Woodbridge, Va./Norfolk State), pictured (center), along with sophomore Derek Altizer (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) are all ranked in the top six in the 100m. Those three will join Frierson in the 4x100m, which stand as the three seed heading into the meet.

Sophomore Davion Lambert (Richmond, Va./Varina), pictured (right), enters as the top seed in the long jump due to his NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 24-4.5. The sophomore also stands third in the triple jump (49-2.5), and fifth in the high jump (6-6.75).

The squad will pick up points due to the addition of senior newcomer Brett Frykberg (Jacksonville, Fla./Univ. of Tennessee). The medical school studenthas the number-one seed in the javelin (200-9) as well as the high jump (6-10.75), in which he qualified in for the NCAA Regionals.

An increase in points is also expected in the mid-distance events. Sophomore Lukasz Matusiewicz (Warsaw, Poland) earned the top seed in the 800m with his season-best time of 1:50.60. His classmate Mariusz Mostrag (Krajnik, Poland) has the fourth seed in the event. The team also places three athletes in the top eight for the 1500m. Mostrag, Matusiewicz and freshman Steve Walters (Virginia Beach, Va./Green Run) are all expected to score at the championships.

The 2005 CAA Track and Field Championships will be held on the campus of George Mason University, April 22-23.