MORROW, Ga. - Three meets in three days …  the Clayton College & State University track and field squad was all over the country this past weekend, competing in meets in Athens, GA, Indianapolis, IN and finally on Sunday in Knoxville, TN, and at every stop, the Lakers have something to brag about.  

Clayton State won events at two different meets, had four events provisionally qualify for the 2004 NCAA Division II National Championships and shattered four school records in a weekend to remember for the track & field program in its seventh season of competition. 

"Wow, another great weekend in Clayton State track history with four school records and four NCAA provisional marks to go along with two firsts," said head track and field coach Mike Mead.  

Senior Tony Juarez (East Hazel Crest, IL) and the team's 4x400m relay team had most impressive performances, both bringing home first place finishes with national meet provisional qualifying times.  

Competing at the Butler Twilight in Indianapolis, Juarez won the 1500m race in cold and windy conditions with a school record time of 3:50.91, besting his own record mark by six- hundredths of a second. His previous best was at the 2003 Georgia Tech Invitational with a time of 3:50.97.  

The trip for Juarez, Clayton State's record holder in several distance events, was somewhat of a homecoming and a little unusual. He was the only Laker to compete in the meet and traveled to the Midwest meet with fellow distance runners from the State University of West Georgia. The meet was a homecoming for the three-time national meet provisional qualifier, as it was within driving distance of his parents in East Hazel Crest, IL.  

"Tony caught a lift to Indianapolis with a few folks from West Georgia and came away with the win in a school record time that should secure him a trip to nationals later this month," said Mead." 

Juarez is currently 10th on the NCAA Division II qualifying list and still has two more weeks to lower his time even further and better his chances for the national meet. The automatic qualifying time for nationals in the 1500m is 3:47.00.   

Clayton State kicked off the weekend Friday and Saturday at the University of Georgia in the Georgia Invitational in Athens, and like Juarez in Indianapolis, had some impressive performances. Clayton State's 4x400m relay team won at UGA with a school record time of 3:12.92, marking the first time the Lakers had won an event at the Georgia Invitational.  

"Our 4x400m team lowered our provisional time and school record en route to our first victory at UGA," said Mead. "Our 4x100m team became the sixth event to make a provisional mark this season. Had you told me a year ago that both our relay teams would run provisional marks this season, I would have said you, 'you're crazy.'" 

 The 4x400m relay team of freshman Brian Etelman (Marietta, GA), senior Rother Heard (Conyers, GA), junior Carlos Guyton (Thomasville, GA) and freshman Eric Simmons (Carrollton, GA) lowered its school record and its NCAA national meet provisional time by almost five-tenths of the second in the victory. The team ran a provisional mark of 3:13.41 last week at the Samford Twilight in Birmingham, AL.  

The 4x100m relay team of Heard, Etelman, senior Elijah Ajayi (Riverdale, GA) and Guyton provisionally qualified for the meet with a school record time of 41.19, placing fourth in the meet. The team broke its school record set last week at Samford by over a tenth of a second.  

For the second straight week, Simmons bettered his chances of making the national meet in the 400m, breaking his own school record with a time of 47.69, finishing seventh. He ran a NCAA provisional time of 47.79 last week at Samford. Heard finished fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 46-feet-7 inches.  

On the women's side, senior Penny Tinker (Mesa, AZ) ran a personal best time of 4:47.87 in the 1500m to place fourth, while sophomore Melisssa Shaw (Morrow, GA) finished sixth in the 1500m with a time of 4:57.43.  

The third and final meet of the weekend for the Lakers was at the University of Tennessee's Gatorade Classic where CCSU's Etelman had the top finish, placing second in the 200m dash with a time of 21.73. Senior Stephen Hughes finished ninth in the 800m with a time of 1:56.93.  

Sophomore Heather Krehbiel (Peachtree City, GA) broke her own school record in the 3000m, placing eighth with a time of 10:32.73. She broke her own school mark set earlier this season by more 12 seconds. Tinker finished ninth 11th in the 800m run with a time of 2:17.80.

The Lakers will return to the track on Saturday, May 8th, running in the Orange & Purple Classic, hosted by Clemson University i