Feb. 22, 2008
PITTSBURGH--The Pitt men's track team will travel to the New Balance Track and Field Center at The Armory in New York City to compete in the Big East Indoor Championships on Feb. 23 and 24.
The Panthers head to competition with multiple top performers, including All-American senior Mike Wray (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) who has won back-to-back Big East titles in the 60-meter hurdles. Wray is currently second in the league in the event after posting a time of 7.85 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
Leading the way in the distance events is senior Sam Bair (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area). Bair is currently ranked second in the mile and placed second in the event last season with a time of 4:04.90. Bair will also join teammates Eric Burnett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel), Aaron Taylor (Washington, DC/Gonzaga College HS) and Eric Fleming (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) in the 4 x 800 meter relay, as the four hold a fourth-place standing in the conference.
Entering his first Big East Championships with multiple rankings is freshman Antony Hobwana (Harare, Zimbabwe/Prince Edward School). Hobwana will be performing in both the 60 and 200 meter events with fourth and third place rankings, respectively. He posted qualifying times for both events at the Tyson Invitational this past weekend, finishing the 60 meter in 6.82 seconds and the 200 in 21.57 seconds.
Other key contributors for the Panthers will be juniors Eric Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Gateway) and Ron Walter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) who are ranked second in the league in their respective events. Jones posted a season-best score of 15.14 meters in the triple jump at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Walter leads the team in the pole vault event with a top score of 5.00 meters. In addition, senior A.J. Kielinski (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic) earned a third-place ranking in the weight throw with a distance of 18.20 meters at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
The men look to improve their sixth place finish at last year's conference championships. The competition will begin each day at 8 a.m. Fans can watch live online at www.bigeast.tv or follow live results online at www.bigeast.org.
