June 30, 2004

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Freshmen Cherylynn Schilling and Marquita Vines achieved All-American status at the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships last weekend in College Station, Texas. Three other freshmen, including Sherlenia Green, Leslie Murillo and Sarah Rinker also competed.

Schilling placed sixth overall in the 5000 meters with a time of 18:16.25, while Vines finished eighth in the 400-meter hurdles at 64.01 seconds.

Green, on the other hand, competed in both the 100-meter (12.16; 22nd) and 400-meter (55.86; 17th), while fellow sprinter Murillo ran a 64.75 en route to finishing 15th in the 400-meter hurdle preliminaries. Rinker would then narrowly miss All-American honors with a 4:40.21 mark in the 1500 meters. Her time was good for a ninth-place showing, as it fell short of the eigth-place spot by only two-tenths of a second.

"This was a great opportunity for our younger athletes to gain experience competing at the national level," said Saluki head women's track coach Connie Price-Smith. "These five freshmen represented our program well, and I'm proud of them."

In order to qualify for the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships, athletes must be 19 years old or younger and meet a qualifying standard throughout the regular competition season.