Justin Youngblood, Ryanne Dupree and Carl Johnson

UTSA track athletes to compete at nationals

(June 8, 2004)--Seniors Carl Johnson and Justin Youngblood and sophomore Ryanne Dupree will represent UTSA at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by the University of Texas June 9-12 at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Johnson, from La Vernia, Texas, will make his first NCAA appearance in the men's 110-meter hurdles beginning with the preliminary round at 6:20 p.m. June 9. Johnson recently picked up his fifth Southland Conference hurdles crown with a win in the 110m hurdles at the SLC Outdoor on May 17.

The 2003 SLC Indoor Outstanding Track Athlete also won three consecutive 60m hurdles titles from 2001-03. This season, Johnson posted a career-best 13.84, meeting the U.S. Olympic Trials "B" standard, in his conference victory. He also met the NCAA regional qualifying standard in all seven races leading into his sixth-place finish at the Midwest Regional.

On June 11, Youngblood will compete in his second decathlon at the national meet after earning All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in 2002, scoring a UTSA-record 7,642 points. The Goliad, Texas, native enjoyed an exceptional indoor campaign, winning the SLC heptathlon, earning SLC Indoor Athlete of the Year honors and gaining All-America status with a seventh-place finish in the heptathlon (school record 5,512 points) at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Outdoors, he registered a season-best 7,403 points in finishing fourth in the decathlon at the Texas Relays. He enters the NCAA meet with the 14th-best mark in the field and is predicted to finish 12th by respected track and field statistician Gary Verigin in his latest Trackwire 25 Dandy Dozen.

Dupree has qualified for the women's heptathlon, which gets underway on June 9 and continues on June 10. Dupree is emerging as one of the top young athletes in collegiate track and field. The San Antonio native won the SLC Indoor pentathlon and finished 11th with a personal-best 3,825 points at the NCAA Indoor. Outdoors, she has garnered top honors in the heptathlon at two of the more prestigious meets this year, posting a personal-best 5,383 points to win the Texas Relays and 5,087 to claim top honors at the Drake Relays.

Dupree, a three-time conference athlete of the week, also won the 100m hurdles at the Whataburger Relays in 13.96 and picked up her first SLC Outdoor title in the event with a season-best 13.65 on May 17. The Junior All-American also leaped to a regional-qualifying 19-10 1/4 mark in the long jump at the A&M Invitational and a season-best 5-8 clearance in the high jump at the conference meet. Trackwire 25's Dandy Dozen has predicted a sixth-place finish at nationals for Dupree.

For 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships meet information and live results, visit the Texas Sports.com Web site.

For more information, contact Kyle Stephens at 210-458-4907 or visit the UTSA Athletics Web site.

--Kyle Stephens