May 24, 2007

The University of North Carolina men's and women's track and field teams will begin NCAA competition Friday at the 2007 East Regional Track and Field Championships, which are being held at James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track on the campus of the University of Florida. The No. 13 UNC men will send five athletes to the meet, while 17 women will represent the Tar Heels as they compete for the right to advance to the 2007 NCAA Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., on June 6-9.

A pair of seniors in the form of Justin Ryncavage and Nick Owens will spearhead the charge for the UNC men. Owner of the nation's best javelin throw this year, Ryncavage will look to repeat his 2006 regional title in the event. Joining Ryncavage, who went on to win the NCAA Championship as well last year, will be teammate Adam Montague - who holds the third-best mark among the East Regional qualifiers - as the event figures key for the Tar Heels.

Owens will compete in two events for the UNC men, the hammer throw and the discus. His school-record 231-5 mark in the hammer stands as the second-farthest throw in the nation this year, making him one of the favorites in that event. Owens also qualified in the discus, and his 183-5 toss ranks second-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year. Only four athletes who will compete at the East Regional sport better discus marks.

UNC will also seek contributions from Reggie Berry in the 400-meter hurdles and Ian Reynolds in the shot put. Berry hold's the ACC's second-best time in the 400 hurdles this year, while Reynolds threw a career-best 56-3 1/4 in his last opportunity to qualify and will look to build on that effort in Florida.

The Carolina women hope to be paced by sophomore standout Brie Felnagle, who will compete in both the 1,500 meters and 800 meters. Felnagle owns the best time in the nation in the 1,500 this year at 4:11.86, and her 2:04.63 time in the 800 is top-10 nationally and the second-best among the regional competitors.

Senior Georgia Kloss joins Felnagle as a favorite in the 800 for the Tar Heels. Kloss ran 2:06.00 in her last meet to post the second-best time in the ACC this year behind Felnagle's, and only two other East Regional qualifiers have run faster.

In the throws events, UNC will trot out Jocelyn White and Riana Lynn in the discus as well as Kelly Fazekas and Kimberly Warren in the shot put. White's 174-5 mark in the discus ranks her second in the regional pool, and Lynn posts a top-10 ACC throw.

In both the pole vault and steeplechase, North Carolina will have three entrants. Abby Kimball, Rhian Jenks and Alison McGinnis all cleared 12-5 1/2 during the season to qualify in the pole vault, while Addie Bracy, Laura Cummings and Morgan Stengel will all run the steeplechase. Bracy and Cummings both have top-10 times in the ACC in that event this year.

In the sprints, UNC has Tyra Johnson, who will run both the 100 meters and 200 meters and Shardae Anderson, who will also compete in the 100. Vanneisha Ivy qualified in the 100 meter hurdles as well for the Tar Heels. Those three athletes will also team with Judith Bataille to give Carolina an entrant in the women's 4x100-meter relay.

La'Shonda Carter rounds out UNC's qualifiers, giving the Tar Heels a competitor in the women's high jump.

The top five finishers in each individual event and the top three relays will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.