May 19, 2006

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- -

Simona Costache

Eleven Southern Miss track and field athletes have qualified in ten different events for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, May 26-27, in Knoxville, Tenn. This is the second largest regional with 81 Division I schools participating.

The following is a list of Golden Eagle athletes with their event, time or mark, and their ranking in the region.

Event Time/Mark Ranking
Tanika Liburd 100 meters 11.39 No. 7
Long Jump 6.36m No. 3
Angela Johnson 100 meters 11.47 No. 10
Raquel Washington 100-meter hurdles 13.19 No. 4
400-meter hurdles 59.16 No. 14
Tori Wells 4 x 100-meter relay 44.00 No. 4
Erica Alston 4 x 100-meter relay 44.00 No. 4
Simona Costache Triple Jump 12.98m No. 4
Aaliyah Shareef Triple Jump 12.40m No. 18
Hana Prudilova Javelin Throw 46.30m No. 14
Cornelius Duncan 400 meters 47.18 No. 39
Ahmed Abdelzaher High Jump 2.13 No. 4
Marcus Brown Hammer Throw 56.17m No. 32

Ashley Reyer, who won the heptathlon at the Conference USA Championship last week, is ranked No. 15 in the nation and will automatically go to nationals since there is no heptathlon at the regionals.

"Early on I set the goal of becoming a Conference USA champion and never doubted myself, even when others did," Reyer said. "Coming in, I knew the competition would be tough, but the win would not have felt as satisfying if it were easy."

Reyer set a new school record in the heptathlon with 5,392 points and is only the second Lady Eagle to win the event.

"Becoming the conference champion is especially satisfying, since months of hard work and not natural talent led to my success," continued Reyer. "I would like to thank Coach Wayne Williams for allowing me to travel to bigger competitions.

"I could not have done all of this alone," Reyer said. "I owe my success to my family, who support me emotionally and spiritually, my athletic trainers who take care of my many aches and pains, and my coach, Kevin Stephen, who's coaching and support have helped me to mature both as an athlete and a young lady."

Assistant Coach Kevin Stephen said, "I could not be more proud of Ashley. She is a very special student-athlete, and I hold her dear to my heart. In my 10 years of working with Division I athletes and coaching All-Americans, I have never had an athlete work harder to achieve his or her goals.

"Ashley's motivation, dedication and work ethic are second to none," Stephen continued. "In winning the C-USA heptathlon title and breaking the Southern Miss record, she adds her name to the list of the best-ever Lady Eagle athletes."