Jan. 25, 2006

Cape Girardeau, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri State men's track team claimed both Ohio Valley Conference weekly awards. Junior Miles Smith was named the OVC Male Track Athlete of the Week and freshman Bilal Hameed was honored as the OVC Male Field Athlete of the Week.

Smith, a gold winner at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland this summer, placed third in the invitational 400-meters at the University of Arkansas. Smith won his heat in 46.97 to provisionally qualify for the NCAA indoor championships.

Hameed was second in the triple jump at the Saluki Booster Meet at SIU-Carbondale. He jumped 49-feet 7 ¼-inches.

The Southeast men's and women's track teams will compete at the University of Illinois on Saturday. Other teams in the Carle/Health Alliance Classic include Illinois, Alabama and Brigham Young.

The 400-meter matchup between Smith and Abe Jones of Illinois will be one of the top races in the nation this week. Jones timed 46.73 to place ahead of Smith last week at Arkansas.