Track & Field's Outdoor Season Starts Friday at Early Bird Twilight Invitational

Friday, March 2

Hammond, La. | Southeastern Track Complex

All Day

Tulane University

Tulane Early Bird Twilight

Track & Field's Outdoor Season Starts Friday at Early Bird Twilight Invitational

Mar 1, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field

TULANE GREEN WAVE
Meet:	Tulane Early Bird Twilight Invitational
When:	Friday, March 2 \| Schedule \| Heat Entries
Where:	Hammond, La. \| Southeastern Track Complex
Live Results:	Roll Wave!
Social Media:	Twitter: @GreenWaveXCTF \| #RollWave Facebook: @GreenWaveXCTF \| #RollWave Instagram: @GreenWaveXCTF \| #RollWave

NEW ORLEANS - One weekend after closing out the indoor season at the American Athletic Conference Championships, Tulane track and field is back in action, opening the outdoor portion of its schedule Friday at the Early Bird Twilight Invitational. The event, hosted by Tulane, was originally slated for Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans, but will now take place at Southeastern Track Complex, located on Southeastern Louisiana University's campus in Hammond, Louisiana.

Throwing events are set to begin at 9:30 a.m. while jumping events start at 12:30 p.m. and running events at 2 p.m.

"I'm grateful that Southeastern offered their facility for our use and that it looks like we're going to be able to pull this off, which is much better than rescheduling or worst case scenario having to cancel it," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Eric Peterson said. "We're going to get it in, and it's going to be a good meet. We're really excited about kicking off the outdoor season."

ABOUT THE MEET AND TEAM
Tulane will square off against the best of the local competitors in Friday's meet, hosting Dillard, Southeastern, UNO and Xavier for the Early Bird Twilight. The Green Wave will have performances across nearly 20 events from the majority of the 2018 roster, which features 44 total student-athletes (29 women and 15 men).

The women's indoor team, fresh off a seventh-place finish at the indoor conference championships, jump right back into competition mode while the men's team, excluding indoor season participants sophomore sprinter Raymond Kibet and junior distance runner Emmanuel Rotich, see live action for the first time since last season.

"It's more of a transition for the women's team versus a very exciting kick-off for the men," Peterson said. "The rest of the team is chomping at the bit to get out there and go. Everybody is going to get an opportunity to see where they are and move away from all the training and preparation they've been engaged with leading up to the season. We're looking for them to just get off to a good start and set a kind of a baseline tone for where we are and what we can expect moving forward."

Junior Rebekah Markel will lead the Tulane jumpers and senior Jacqueline Esmay provides stability for the throwers while sophomore Brandi Hughes, coming off a gold-medal finish in the 60m hurdles at last weekend's indoor conference championships, and junior Jessica Duckett will look to break more hurdles records in the outdoor season. Redshirt juniors Emma Newton and Lauren Bartels and junior Mckenzie Melius will power the Green Wave's long distance team.

Kibet, Rotich, junior sprinter Devin Glenn and redshirt junior Corey Dauphine headline the men's side. Kibet, Glenn and Dauphine, along with freshman Jaetavian Toles, will team up to run the men's 4x100m relay - the event in which those three hold the school's second-best time (40.63).

Last season, Kibet took home the gold medal in the 400m at the American Conference Championships, becoming the first title winner in the event for Tulane in nearly 20 years. Kibet went on to clock a time of 45.21 at NCAA Regionals, which not only set a new school record, but also qualified the freshman for his first NCAA Championships.

The meet is the Green Wave's only home event of the season, and Peterson said he is excited to see the annual outpouring of support.

"Historically, the thing that we've enjoyed about this particular meet and will enjoy tomorrow, even though it's out in Hammond, is some of the kids have their parents come in to watch them compete for the first time," Peterson said. "Being able to compete closer to home provides an opportunity for people who support the team to come out and watch, and that's an added bonus for all of those athletes from a standpoint of motivation and enthusiasm. It's unfortunate that it's not out at Tad Gormley Stadium, our home track, but it is close enough where friends, family and supporters of our program can get out and watch us compete."

LAST SEASON AT TWILIGHT EARLY BIRD
The Green Wave opened the 2017 outdoor season in winning fashion at last year's Invitational, landing 13 competitors atop the podium and breaking a trio of school outdoor records. Then-freshman Kibet began his collegiate career with a first-place finish on a time of 1:18.57 in the 600m while then-sophomore Rotich posted a school record-breaking 8:21.03 in the 3,000m.

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Heat Entries for Tulane Early Bird Twilight Invitational
Men's 100m Dash
Antonius Prader
Devin Glenn

Men's 300m Run
Antonius Prader

Men's 800m Run
Raymond Kibet
Emmanuel Rotich

Men's 1,500m Run
Patrick Dougherty
Pierce Hill
Stephen Medlin

Men's 3,000m Run
Joshua Cheruyot
Andrew Kipkemboi
Carlos Zervigon

Men's 4x100m Relay
A: Devin Glenn, Corey Dauphine, Jaetavian Toles, Raymond Kibet
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Women's 100m Dash
Maya Harewood
Danielle Wember

Women's 300m Run
Maya Harewood
Kyah Loyd
Kyra Ness-Lanckriet

Women's 800m Run
Jessica Duckett
Emma Newton
Lauren Bartels
Mckenzie Melius
Emily-Kathryn Hoey
Reid Belanger
Jennifer LaMori

Women's 1,500m Run
Emma Newton
Lauren Bartels
Sarah Cella
Paige Fatland
Jennifer LaMori
Rachel Maue
Mary Catherine Stovall
Bridgid Selfors
Mckenzie Melius

Women's 3,000m Run
Mckenzie Melius

Women's 100m Hurdles
Brandi Hughes
Kyah Loyd

Women's 400m Hurdles
Brandi Hughes

Women's 4 x 400m Relay
A: TBD

Women's High Jump
Emma King
Pauline Helm

Women's Pole Vault
Rebekah Markel
Kristina Leggas
Rose Brutkiewicz
Bailey Ash

Women's Long Jump
Pauline Helm
Danielle Wember
Jordyn Lesh

Women's Discus Throw
Kyla Denwood

Women's Hammer Throw
Jackie Esmay
Nicole Kauffman