June 7, 2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The 2006 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships will begin on Wednesday at A.G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif. with two George Mason athletes competing on the first day of action. Senior Richard Phillips will run in the men's 110-meter hurdles while freshman Murielle Ahoure will compete in the women's 200-meter dash.

Ahoure, who will also compete in the 100-meter dash, will run in the first round of the 200-meter dash tomorrow at 5:10 p.m. PT (8:10 p.m. ET). The lone freshman in the entire 200-meter dash field at the National Championships, Ahoure will compete in the first of four preliminary heats, against Stanford's Janice Davis, Auburn's Tamara Thomas, Houston's Ebonie Floyd, UCLA's Jolanda Diego, LSU's Brooklynn Morris and UNC-Charlotte's Shareese Woods. Both Floyd and Woods have the fastest time among the competitors in the heat, with an identical time of 22.70 seconds this season. Ahoure's fastest time this season was 23.33 seconds in the finals of the ECAC Championships on May 14. The top three from each heat, in addition to the next six fastest times, will advance to the semifinals, scheduled for Friday at 5:45 p.m. PT (8:45 p.m. ET).

The first round of the 110-meter hurdles is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. PT (7:50 p.m. ET) with Phillips competing in the first of three heats. The St. Catherine, Jamaica native will run against Maryland's Dominic Berger, Baylor's Jerome Miller, Auburn's Tyrone Akins, Oregon's Eric Mitchum, Northridge's Anthony Brown, Oklahoma's Tony Francis and Texas Tech's Marlon Odom. Odom is the top seed in the heat with a time of 13.45 seconds this season. Phillips' top time this year is 13.71 seconds at the Texas Relays on April 8. Out of the three preliminary heats, the top four in each heat will advance to the semifinals, along with the next six fastest times. The semifinals are also scheduled for tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. PT (9:45 p.m. ET). The top four from each semifinal plus the athlete with the next fastest time will advance to Friday's final, scheduled for 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET).

The first day of events begins at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) with the decathlon. The first field event, the qualifying round of the men's hammer throw, is slated for 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET) while the track events begin at 3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET) with the semifinals of the women's 4x100-meter relay. The National Championships will air live on CSTV from 8 - 10 p.m. ET on Friday and from 3:30 - 6 p.m. ET on Saturday on CBS.