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May 28, 2009

OXFORD, Ohio -- A trio of Miami RedHawks left campus on Thursday with a chance to compete for a national championship. Alexis Lape, Katie Lenahan and Amanda Mirochna are participating in the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field meet after qualifying through their regular-season performances.

Lape will compete in two events, beginning with the 400 Hurdles preliminary Thursday at 4 p.m. She will return to action Saturday at 5 p.m. in the triple jump.

Mirochna also qualified in two events -- the 1500 and the 3000 steeplechase -- but will concentrate on the latter. That race takes place at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.

Lenahan is competing in the 800-meter preliminary at 4:40 p.m. on Friday. Should she advance to the final, it would be contested Saturday at 5:25 p.m.

Alexis Lape - Triple Jump/400 Hurdles

QUOTES FROM COACH Rita Arndt-Molis
"Alexis is an athlete that likes to stay busy which is why she is competing in both the 400 hurdles and the triple jump. She likes to be in the action and a part of the competition. I know her approach work in the triple jump has been going really well since conference and she seems ready to put a big jump together in competition. But she's got to get through the 400H rounds first and make sure she takes care of herself before and after that event."

LAPE'S 400 HURDLES SEASON RESULTS

1:00.41    05/02/2009  Jesse Owens Invitational - Columbus, Ohio
1:00.78    04/18/2009  All-Ohio Championships - Oxford, Ohio
1:00.99    04/04/2009  Auburn Tiger Classic - Auburn, Ala.
1:01.02    05/15/2009  MAC Championship - Akron, Ohio
1:01.60    05/16/2009  MAC Championship - Akron, Ohio
1:04.02    03/28/2009  South Florida Quad - Tampa, Fla.

LAPE'S TRIPLE JUMP SEASON RESULTS

41-04.50 / 12.61m    04/25/2009   Stan Lyons Invitational - Indianapolis, Ind.
39-07.75 / 12.08m    04/04/2009   Auburn Tiger Classic - Auburn, Ala.
39-05.00 / 12.01m    03/28/2009   South Florida Quad - Tampa, Fla.
39-02.50 / 11.95m    05/16/2009   MAC Championship - Akron, Ohio
38-05.00 / 11.71m    05/08/2009   Billy Hayes Invitational - Bloomington, Ind.

Katie Lenahan - 800m

QUOTES FROM COACH Rita Arndt-Molis
"Katie is the type of athlete I never have to worry about in terms of a race. I always know she gives her all and is a very good competitor. But in order to be successful this weekend, she can't just compete, she needs to make sound tactical decisions.

We've discussed how to focus on different things at different stages of the race and if she executes that well, she'll have a good shot at making a final. To advance to the final (top eight) in our region would be quite an accomplishment for her.

She's already come so far from last season when she was running 2:15 or 2:16; she's consistently in that 2:10 or better range and having a lot of fun."
LENAHAN'S SEASON RESULTS

2:09.80   04/18/2009  All-Ohio Championships - Oxford, Ohio
2:10.10   05/02/2009  Jesse Owens Invitational - Columbus, Ohio
2:10.79   05/15/2009  MAC Championship - Akron, Ohio
2:13.17   05/16/2009  MAC Championship - Akron, Ohio
2:15.17   04/04/2009  Auburn Tiger Classic - Auburn, Ala.
2:15.57   03/28/2009  South Florida Quad - Tampa, Fla.

Amanda Mirochna - 3000m steeplechase

QUOTES FROM COACH Rita Arndt-Molis
"I'm really excited for the competitor Amanda has become this spring. She has learned to trust herself, compete under pressure and just enjoy each race opportunity. The Regional championships are made for people like that. People that can put all distraction aside and just focus on the task of being top five.

I certainly think she is capable of a performance that should put her in that position. In order to do that, she's going to need to be aggressive and smart with her race. We've talked about engaging early in the race but not letting the first half of the race feel frantic. It should be comfortably fast. Her hurdling has really improved all season and she's learning how to run both into and out of each barrier so that keeps her busy mentally once the fatigue sets in.

Regardless of the outcome, Amanda has matured a ton this spring and every experience just makes her that much better."

MIROCHNA'S 3000m STEEPLECHASE SEASON RESULTS

10:36.29   05/02/2009  Jesse Owens Invitational - Columbus, Ohio
10:43.26   04/04/2009  Auburn Tiger Classic - Auburn, Ala.
10:47.44   05/15/2009  MAC Championship - Akron, Ohio
10:59.13   03/28/2009  South Florida Quad - Tampa, Fla.

OVERALL QUOTES FROM COACH Rita Arndt-Molis
"All in all we've got a great group. Unfortunately, a late season injury is preventing Rachel Patterson from racing and Margarita Pogorelov is already racing back home in Europe. But these three women have done a fantastic job for us all year and I'll expect nothing less at the regional meet."