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Issued: April 26, 2006

WOMEN'S TRACK SET FOR GRAND EVENT

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire women's track team prepares for a busy upcoming weekend with the Simpson Twilight Open for some and the large-scale Drake Relays for others.

Drake University's Drake Relays has become an impressive track and field event. It runs from Thursday through Saturday in Des Moines, IA and will feature an astounding array of athletes from high schoolers to former Olympians. Each day brings in thousands of spectators with the Saturday events drawing the largest crowds. The Saturday crowd has been a sell-out one for 40 consecutive years. Last year's Saturday total was 18,000 spectators at Drake Stadium.

The women are sending three relay teams and one individual competitor. The 4x100-meter relay team will be Kjersten Holt (So.-Long Prairie, MN/LP Grey Eagle), Kelly Sprague (Jr.-Mankato, MN/East), Shalene Huth (Jr.-Appleton/West), and Erin Kokta (Sr.-Brookfield/East). Holt, Sprague, and Kokta will team up with Anna Sutherland (Fr.-Roseville, MN) to run the 4x200-meter relay. The 4x400-meter squad includes Liz Kooistra (Fr.-Lakeville MN), Liz Faller (Jr.-Marinette), Laura Broner (Fr.-Madison/Memorial), and Huth. Stephanie Barnes (Jr.-Sauk City/Sauk Prairie), who has won an outdoor national championship and an indoor national championship in pole vault, will also compete this weekend in her specialty.

The events for any Blugold participants will occur either this Friday or Saturday, depending on the event, at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA.

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