Feb. 23, 2007

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HOUSTON, TEXAS -- Highlighted by a gold medal and NCAA provisional mark by Eric Frasure in the weight throw competition, East Carolina turned in a solid effort on day one of the Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Bill Yeoman Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Houston. The Pirate men stand in fifth place overall while the ECU women hold steady in 10th. In all, the Pirates posted nine top-15 finishes while advancing eight athletes to the finals in their respective events.

For the ECU women, Chelsea Salisbury took seventh in the weight throw with a toss of 16.66m. In the finals of the long jump, Chante Sessoms finished 10th with a mark of 5.60m. Representing the distance runners, Nicole Briggs finished 15th in the 5000 meter run with a time of 18:39.86. Three ECU athletes finished in the top 10 of the high jump competition as Valeria Moore took sixth (1.59m) and Meghan Horne and Lindsay Dolan tied for ninth (1.54m). Sessoms advanced to the finals of the 400m dash, finishing seventh with a time of 57.12. Two Pirates also moved on to the finals of the 60 meter hurdles as Dolan finished fifth (8.91) and Lanaire Lindo took sixth (8.96).

In men's action, two ECU athletes set NCAA provisional marks in the weight throw. Frasure took the gold medal with a toss of 20.54m while Terrance Myers earned the silver with a throw of 20.47m. In the final of the long jump, Akintude Abisogun finished a solid third with a mark of 7.38m. Adian Sanderson and Kevin Thompson advanced to the finals of the 60 meter dash, finishing fourth (6.87) and seventh (6.90) respectively. Thompson also moved on to the finals of the 200 meter dash, clocking in at 21.97. In the 400 meter dash prelims, Brandon Small turned in the top time of any runner with a time of 48.41. Also moving on to the finals of the 60 meter hurdles was Kris Bell, who posted a time of 8.36.

The Pirates will return to the Bill Yeoman field house to conclude the championships tomorrow. The final events of the heptathlon begin at 9:00 a.m. Field events are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. and the running events are scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

For tomorrow's track and field championship results and schedule of events, visit C-USA's official website at www.ConferenceUSA.com.