Feb. 6, 1997

Women's Track & Field to Compete in Canon IV Classic

HEAD COACH:
Kris Grimes
1997 RECORD:
1-2 Overall, 0-2 Big Ten

UP NEXT:
Fri.-Sat. Feb. 7-8 Cannon IV Classic Indianapolis, Ind.

THIS WEEK:
The Michigan State women's track and field team will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., this weekend to compete in the Cannon IV Classic at Butler University. Competition gets underway on Friday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m., and will resume on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 10:30 a.m. In addition to Michigan State, teams competiting include Arkansas-Little Rock, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Florida, Stanford, Villanova and Wisconsin.

The Spartans will send nine athletes to the meet. Seniors Chandra Burns (Detroit) and Shermaine McKenzie (Nassau, Bahamas) will compete in the 400 meters, while junior Lawanda Byrd (West Palm Beach, Fla.) is entered in the 60 hurdles. Senior Sevatheda Fynes (Nassau, Bahamas) will enter the 200 meters for the first time this season.

In the distance events, freshman Leah Nilsson (Williamston) will run the 3,000 meters and senior Stephanie Dueringer (Champaign, Ill.) is expected to compete in the 5,000 meters. Junior Karyn Duba (Alto) is a possible entry in the mile.

Freshman Lisa Brown (Fife, Scotland), who will compete in the high jump for the Spartans, is the only field event competitor making the trip. Following this weekend's event, the Spartans will return to Jenison Field House for their final home event of the season, the MSU Invitational, on Thursday, Feb. 13.

LAST WEEK:
The Michigan State women's track and field team hosted Eastern Michigan, Hillsdale, Marquette, Western Michigan and Windsor in the non-scoring Spartan Invitational at Jenison Field House, on Saturday, Feb. 1.

The Spartans made a strong showing with six first-place finishes. Senior Chandra Burns posted two first-place finishes, winning the 55 meters with a season-best time of 7.10, and crossing the tape in the 200 meters with a time of 24.94.

Senior Sevatheda Fynes, who last week qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 55 meters, took home top honors in the 400 meters with a season-best time of 56.50.

Freshman Leah Nilsson continued her strong rookie season with a first-place finish in the mile with a season-best time of 5:05.50. Senior Stephanie Dueringer ran away with the 3,000 meters title, clocking a season-best time of 9:55.38.

QUOTING COACH GRIMES:
The team put in a lot of effort last weekend. It was a good meet. We're working hard to increase unity and develop team confidence. We're excited about this week's meet. We're working toward one goal: to better the team as we head towards the upcoming events.

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