Mar 19th, 2007 04:20AM
by:

By CODY USHER
UCA ASSISTANT SID

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The University of Central Arkansas men's and women's track teams opened the 2007 outdoor schedule at the Rhodes Open in Memphis on Saturday (March 17). The Bears and Sugar Bears competed against competition from all three divisions of the NCAA, including Arkansas State, Mississippi, Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas Tech, Southern Arkansas and Hendrix.

On the women's side, junior Lauren Merritt set a new school record in the 1500 meters, finishing eighth with a time of 4:52.50.  Sophomore Lori Garside tied for first in the high jump with a leap of 1.62 meters and placed fifth in the triple jump with a 10.64 meter vault. The Sugar Bear 4x100 relay team finished third with a time of 50.08 seconds

For the Bears, freshman Thad Gordon took second place in the 400 meters (48.85 seconds), second in the triple jump (14.65 meters) and seventh in the 200 meters (22.53 seconds). Sophomore Danny McBride placed third in both the 1500 meters (3:57.56) and the 800 meters (1:58.88). The 4x100 relay team took third with a time of 42.88.

Both teams will return to Memphis for the Rhodes Spring Break Invitational on Saturday, March 24.