Men's Outdoor Track and Field Southern Conference

Furman Freshman Tyler Johnson Qualifies For Junior Nationals

CLEMSON, South Carolina -- Furman freshman Tyler Johnson posted a 1500m time of 3:56.62 Saturday at the North Carolina-South Carolina All Star Meet to qualify for the USA Track and Field Junior National Championship, June 19-22, in Palo Alto, Calif.

Johnson, a 6-1 middle distance specialist from Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tenn., finished fifth in the 1500m, 1.15 seconds behind teammate Kevin Crosby, who placed third. Johnson will be the fourth Furman runner to compete in the Junior National Qualifier, which is open to eligible runners ages 14 through 19. The last Furman runner to compete in the Junior National Qualifier was 2000 graduate Yuri van der Heijden. In addition, Heather VandeBrake, ('96), and Jake Johnson, ('99) took part, while Lory Gray ('01)qualified, but did not compete.

Though Furman did not win any of the events at Saturday's All-Star Meet, the men's and women's teams combined for seven second-place finishes, including Bev Roberts' 2:18.16 mark in the 800m run, Tessa Cook's 4:52.26 showing in the 1500m run, Rebekah Pott's time of 19:29.74 in the 5000m, Leslie Elliott's leap of 32'11-3/4" in the triple jump, Chris DeCamps' 1:56.60 mark in the 800m run, a time of 3:25.32 by the men's 4x400m squad, and Regan LeBlanc's toss of 179'9" in the javelin.

The North Carolina-South Carolina All-Star Meet was Furman's last competition before the 2003 Southern Conference Championships, slated for Friday and Saturday, April 18-19, in Boone, N.C.