March 7, 2012
Meet Central
Meet Notes 
TUCSON - The Arizona Wildcat No. 5 men's and No. 12 women's track and field teams will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 9-10, held at Boise State's Jackson Track in Nampa, Idaho. On Friday, the events start at 10:00 a.m. MST and competition resumes at 10:30 a.m. MST on Saturday.
The No. 5 Arizona men will compete against No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 LSU and many others. The No. 12 women will compete against No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Texas A&M and many others.
In the current 2012 USTFCCCA national poll, the Arizona men sit at the No. 5 spot and the women are 12th. The UA men are joined by three other Pac-12 schools in the national poll. Arizona State is ranked seventh, Stanford is No. 13 and Oregon is No. 25. On the women's side, four fellow Pac-12 schools accompany Arizona in the national poll. Oregon is No. 1, California is eighth, Washington is No. 10 and Stanford is 16th.
For the men, juniors Nick Ross and Edgar Rivera-Morales will compete in the high jump competition on Saturday at 3 p.m. MST. Both of them have cleared 7-4.25 (2.24m) this year. Sophomore Lawi Lalang will compete in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. Senior Stephen Sambu will also compete in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. The 3K will take place on Saturday at 7:55 p.m. MST and the 5K will start on Friday at 8:25 p.m. MST.
On the women's side, juniors Brigetta Barrett and Julie Labonté will look to defend their 2011 NCAA Championships. Barrett will compete in the high jump on Friday at 8 p.m. MST. She currently has the best mark in the country, clearing 6-5.5. (1.97m) Labonté will compete in the shot put at 7 p.m. MST on Saturday. Her season-best throw is 59-1.25, the No. 2 mark in the country. UA's lone at-large bid, sophomore Elvin Kibet, will compete in the 5,000-meter race. Kibet is the 2012 MPSF Champion in the 5K, clocking a time of 15:59.16. She will run at 8:25 p.m. MST on Friday.
Barrett and Labonté both won MPSF Championships in Seattle on Feb. 25-26. Barrett set a meet record, clearing 6-4 (1.93m) and winning her second-straight MPSF title. Labonté also set a meet record, throwing 58-7.5 and winning her third title in three years. Kibet won the 5,000-meter race, clocking a time of 15:59.16.
Lalang won the 3,000-meter race with a time of 7:44.48. That is a school record, the No. 2 time in the country this year and the No. 5 collegiate mark all-time. Ross won the high jump competition, clearing 7-3.25 (2.22m).
Barrett has been awarded the MPSF Female Athlete of the Year and the USTFCCCA West Region Female Field Athlete of the Year. Barrett is also on the Bowerman Watch List. Lalang earned MPSF Male Athlete of the Year and the USTFCCCA West Region Male Track Athlete of the Year. Assistant coach Sheldon Blockburger was named the USTFCCCA West Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year and associate head coach James Li was named the USTFCCCA West Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year.
ESPN3 will stream the meet live on March 9 from 7:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m. ET and March 10 from 8:00 p.m.-11:15 p.m. ET. A tape delay of the championship will air Sunday, March 18 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. NCAA.com and broncosports.com will stream what ESPN3 is not covering on Friday (Noon-7:30 p.m. ET) and Saturday (12:30-8 pm ET). Live results will be available at flashresults.com.
