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Hahn, Schneble, Wetzel Set to Compete at NCAA Mideast Regional Championships 5/27/2004 Three Commodores, including recent Southeastern Conference individual champions Josie Hahn and Erika Schneble, will compete this weekend in the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field Championships at Louisiana State University. Hahn, a junior from Clinton, Tenn., and Schneble, a sophomore from Hendersonville, N.C., are top contenders in their specialties, but enter the competition with questions due to injuries. Hahn has practiced well this week after coming down with an abdominal strain at the SEC Championships. Schneble has been less active in training because of a left foot injury sustained at the end of her SEC 5,000-meter victory. While Hahn and Schneble will be joined at the meet by Commodore distance runner Ashleigh Wetzel, another teammate is not expected to compete. A persistent hip injury will keep sophomore Amanda Mullins-Hall out of the 100-meter hurdles. Last year, she ran well at the Regionals, narrowly missing a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Schneble’s status is the most uncertain. If healthy, she is the favorite at 5,000 meters, owning the fastest qualifying time of 16:08.18. Two weeks ago, while leading comfortably at the SEC Championships, Schneble felt a twinge in her foot with a lap remaining in the 5,000. She gutted out the final lap to capture her first SEC title, but was diagnosed with a slight tear of the left plantar fascia. For the last 10 days, Schneble’s training has been limited to pool conditioning and short runs. Her condition has gradually improved. “It is a concern, no doubt. As a runner, you never want to enter an important race with a question mark,” Commodore distance coach Jim Spivey said. “But Erika feels much better now than she did even a couple of days ago. I know Erika will give her very best effort.” Hahn, a two-time All-American, will concentrate on the high jump and javelin at the Regionals. She is the lone Commodore assured of competing at the nationals as one of the nation’s top heptathletes. Last year, she finished fourth in the NCAA heptathlon. Hahn shares top billing in the high jump with Kahlah Burks of Auburn. Both have cleared 6’0″ this season, with Hahn’s school-record effort coming during her individual victory in the SEC heptathlon last week. They are the only jumpers of 33 potential competitors to clear the six-foot standard. Hahn is likely to use her entry in the javelin as a rehearsal for the NCAA heptathlon. Last week at the SEC Championships, Hahn experienced the highs and lows of competition in the javelin. During the seven-event heptathlon, Hahn smashed the school record in the javelin, throwing 147’2″. The effort proved the margin for her heptathlon victory. In the open competition, Hahn had a sub-par effort and failed to qualify for the finals while complaining of a rib irritation. “Josie had a great week of practice. She even four-stepped 5’6″ in practice Tuesday. I don’t think Josie has ever done that before. She is fit for the high jump,” Head Coach Lori Shepard said. Wetzel enters her event, the 1,500-meter run, off the finest performance of her life. The lone freshman to qualify for the SEC 1,500-meter finals, Wetzel lowered her personal best by more than two seconds with a 4:26.38 effort. Wetzel could challenge the Commodore school record of 4:22.49 set in 1994 by Whitney Spannuth if she can run with the lead pack. Five of the nine runners competing with Wetzel have run sub-4:20 for the distance. |
