DePaul University

CHICAGO - The DePaul men's and women's track and field squads hit the road for the first time in 2010 on Sat., January 9 for the Purdue Invitational at the Lambert Fieldhouse in West Lafayette, Ind.  The field events get underway at 10 a.m. (CST) while the first starting pistol for the running events sounds at 11:30 a.m.

The Blue Demons enter the meet after qualifying for the BIG EAST Indoor Championship in 11 different events during the first two meets of the season.  Leading the way, Mary Cate Quiett and Greg Udzielak have both earned a berth in the mile and the 1,000m, while Brad Millar and Chris Kyles have tallied two qualifying marks in the weight throw and 60m, respectively. 

For full results and recaps, visit www.DepaulBlueDemons.com.

Just Another Day
Senior thrower Brad Millar remains perfect this season, winning the weight throw competition during every meet thus far.  His most recent distance of 19.72m set a new career high, met the BIG EAST standard, and surpassed NCAA provisional qualifications.  Millar currently ranks second on the NCAA Descending Order List, while coming in at first, by nearly two meters, on the BIG EAST's counterpart.

You Give An Inch...
... and the Blue Demons will take the mile.  Four student-athletes have qualified for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, the most of any school in the league, including Terah Cheatham, Mary Cate Quiett, Max Rodrigues and Greg Udzielak.  All four have logged top-five finishes in the event during their qualifying performances.

Quiett Making Noise
Junior Mary Cate Quiett got 2009-10 season off right, breaking her DePaul indoor 1,000m record for the third time in as many years at the Blue and Gold Meet held at Notre Dame.  Her time of 2:52.83 was not only 10 seconds faster than the second-place runner, but it also met the BIG EAST qualification mark in the event.  Quiett followed that up with another BIG EAST nod, this time in the mile race, during the EIU Early Bird Classic.

Strawder Making Strides
Senior jumper Joe Strawder quickly earned a spot at the 2010 indoor league championship after surpassing a distance of 6.87m in the long jump competition at the Blue and Gold Meet.  He followed that up with a winning leap of 14.30m in the triple jump to earn his second BIG EAST mark of the evening.

Week One Winner x2
Quiett and Strawder made Blue Demon history, claiming two of the four BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week Awards for their performances at the Blue and Gold Meet during the first week of competition.   Not only is the honor a first for either student-athlete, but it is also the first time that DePaul has claimed more than one of the awards in a single week.  Quiett and Strawder join thrower Brad Millar and cross country runner Matthew Graham on the elite list of Athlete of the Week awardees.

Kyles' a Keeper
In his first-ever collegiate race, freshman Chris Kyles broke the DePaul 60m record, clocking a time of 6.97 en route to a second-place finish at the Blue and Gold Meet.  Kyles repeated his 6.97 performance during the preliminaries of the Eastern Illinois Early Bird Classic.

Up Next:
The Blue Demons return to action on Friday, January 15 when they return to the Loftus Sports Center for the Notre Dame Indoor Opener.