Navy Invitational Meet Notes (PDF)

Navy Invitational Meet Schedule (PDF)

CNU Holiday Open Meet Notes (PDF)

CNU Holiday Open Meet Schedule (HTML)

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's and women's track & field teams will open the 2009-2010 indoor season this Saturday in separate meets; the Pirates will be in Annapolis for their first meet of the year, while the Lady Pirates will be in Newport News.

The Pirates will open the season at the Navy Invitational in the Wesley A. Brown Fieldhouse for the second straight year; the Lady Pirates will compete in the Christopher Newport University Holiday Open at the Freeman Center.

Eight teams are scheduled to join Hampton at the Navy Invitational: American, Coppin State, Delaware State, Elizabethtown, Georgetown, Morgan State, Mount St. Mary's and Virginia Commonwealth. The meet will start at 11 a.m. with throwing and jumping events; track events will start at 12 p.m. with the 5,000-meter run.

Junior Predist Walker (Suffolk, Va.) turned in Hampton's best performance in last year's Navy Invitational, winning a pair of events. Walker jumped 7.48 meters to take the long jump crown, before running an 8.03 to win the 60-meter hurdles. He was also on the 4x400-meter relay team that finished seventh with a time of 3:24.55.

Damon Dixon (Great Falls, Va.) and Lamar Veale finished tied for fifth in the high jump at 1.90 meters. Dixon also finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.48), while Veale (Chesapeake, Va.) finished sixth (8.61).

Aaron Anderson (Fort Washington, Md.) finished second in the 60-meter dash after running a 6.88, while also running a 22.26 in the 200-meter dash to finish fifth.

The Lady Pirates are scheduled to be joined in the CNU Holiday Open by the likes of North Carolina State, Saint Augustine's, East Carolina, Savannah State, North Carolina Central, Virginia Commonwealth, William & Mary, Norfolk State, Lincoln (Pa.), Roanoke, Lynchburg, Johns Hopkins, Richmond, Virginia Union and Virginia Wesleyan.
Field events will start at 9 a.m., with track events starting at 11 a.m.

Senior Francena McCorory (Hampton, Va.) and junior Racquel Vassell each won event titles in the 2008 CNU Holiday Open; McCorory, the 2009 NCAA indoor champion in the 400-meter dash, took that event at the Freeman Center last year with a 54.79, while also finishing in a tie for second with Vassell in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.02.

Vassell (Irvington, N.J.) earned MEAC Athlete of the Week honors after winning the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.93 and the long jump with a distance of 5.79 meters. Vassell and McCorory were also on the 4x400-meter relay team that took the gold medal with a 3:51.89.

For more information on Hampton University track & field, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.