The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Track and Field Travels to Jace LaCoste Invitational
5/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Jace LaCoste Invitational | Saturday, May 2, 2015
Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex | Starkville, Miss.
Meet Information: Schedule | Heat Sheets | UAB Outdoor Performances
Coverage: Twitter
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB track and field team will travel for its final outdoor meet of the regular season this Saturday, as the Blazers are set to compete in the Jack LaCoste Invitational at Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex in Starkville, Miss.
The Jace LaCoste Invitational marks UAB's final meet before the Blazers head to the Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at UTEP's Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas from May 14-17.
"We have some things we are looking for this weekend, like some consistency for some ladies in their events, technical execution in others and some improvements to place us in position to score points at the C-USA Outdoor Championships," UAB head coach Kurt Thomas said. "We've had some good things happen during the outdoor season, so we want that to continue and prepare the team to compete at our championships at UTEP."
Highlighting UAB's outdoor performers thus far this season is Autumnn Burnett, who clocked a time of 13.59 in the 100-meter hurdles to finish third at the War Eagle Invitational.
The junior's personal-best time ranks 39th on the NCAA East Qualifying List, as well as second in Conference USA. This weekend, Burnett will turn her attention to the 400-meter hurdles, an event in which her personal best (1:00.58) ranks third in the conference.
Jessica Shelley joins Burnett in Conference USA's top four performers in the 100-meter hurdles this season, and will run the event again on Saturday. Shelley also posted her season best at the War Eagle Invitational, clocking a time of 13.72 to finish fourth.
Jenna Wesley makes her fourth entry into the 800-meter run this weekend, an event she won at the Tiger Track Classic. Wesley's time of 2:12.37 in her victory is the third-fastest time recorded by a Conference USA athlete this season.
Kelli Smith, Conference-USA's No. 9 long jumper, will enter the event for the fifth time this season on Saturday. The senior earned her ranking with a jump of 5.93m (19-05 1/2) at the Tennessee Relays.
Kendra Gipson will join Smith in the long jump, while also making her sixth foray of the outdoor season into the triple jump. Gipson owns three top-10 finishes in the event this year, including a third place-finish and personal-best leap of 12.32m (40-05) at the Tennessee Relays to hoist herself to a No. 8 ranking in Conference USA.
"The competition will be fine at Mississippi State, but more importantly, we need to focus on our event, our lane, our race or our jump," Thomas said. "If we can do that, we'll be prepared."
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account, @UABathletics. For an in-depth look into the UAB Track & Field program, follow @UAB_TrackXC on Twitter.
