May 30, 2006

FAIRFAX, Va. - Two more George Mason athletes made the Division I Outdoor Track and Field National Championships after the NCAA released its list of athletes accepted into the meet today. Freshman Murielle Ahoure and senior Richard Phillips were both selected as at-large participants into the meet, joining senior Marc Kellman, who automatically qualified for the championships with a fifth-place finish in the triple jump at the East Regional Championships on May 27.

Phillips will run in the 110-meter hurdles at the championships. He ranks 15th in the nation with a time of 13.71 seconds, and is Mason's top performer of all-time in the event with a personal record of 13.48 seconds. He finished sixth at last week's Regional Championships with a time of 13.79 seconds in the finals. Phillips, a 2004 Olympian, will make his third appearance at the Division I Outdoor National Championships after sitting out last season with an injury.

Ahoure will compete in two events - the 100- and 200-meter dash - at the National Championships. She ran her two fastest times of the season in the 100-meter dash at last week's Regional Championships, finishing in 11.42 seconds in the preliminary heats and 11.46 seconds in the finals. Her personal record of 11.42 seconds ranks 23rd in the nation heading into the National Championships. In the 200-meter dash, Ahoure ran her second-fastest time of the season in the finals at the Regional Championships, finishing in 23.45 seconds. Her top time, 23.33 seconds, ranks 20th in the country heading into the National Championships. Ahoure is one of only three freshman competing at the National Championships in the 100-meter dash, and the lone freshman competing in the 200-meter dash.

The National Championships will begin on Wednesday, June 7 at A.G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif., with the final day of competition scheduled for Saturday, June 10. The first round of the men's 110-meter hurdles is slated for 4:50 p.m. on June 7, with the first round of the women's 200-meter dash scheduled for 5:10 p.m. the same day. The first round of the women's 100-meter dash is scheduled for June 8 at 3:30 p.m. and the qualifying round of the men's triple jump begins the next day, June 9, at 3 p.m. The National Championships will air live on CSTV from 8 - 10 p.m. ET on Friday and from 3:30 - 6 p.m. ET on Saturday on CBS.