Three Spartans Headed To NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships :: Brad Gebauer, Jeremy Orr and Nicole Bush will represent MSU.

June 6, 2006

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Junior Brad Gebauer and sophomores Jeremy Orr and Nicole Bush will represent Michigan State at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week in Sacramento, Calif., at the A.G. Spanos Sports Complex. Competition begins Wednesday (June 7) and runs through Saturday (June 10). All three student-athletes will compete in qualifying rounds on Wednesday in their respective events.

Gebauer, a pole vaulter, is looking to earn All-America honors for the second time this season. The Bad Axe, Mich., native has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments this season, including garnering All-America honors for placing fourth at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He won the Big Ten indoor title with a leap of 18-0 1/2, which is the second highest jump in school history. He continued his success in the outdoor season, winning the Big Ten outdoor title in East Lansing on May 14 and the NCAA Mideast Regional crown on May 26. Gebauer is seeded ninth in the pole vault for his leap of 17-9 1/4 - the third best in Spartan outdoor history - at the Bulldog Invitational on April 22. This is Gebauer's first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The qualifying round for pole vault begins Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. ET. The top 13 individuals in the qualifying round will move on to the finals, which begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, June 9.

Orr qualified in the 400 meters for his fifth-place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional, running a personal-best time of 46.24. He also placed fifth at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Orr is seeded 20th out of 26 competitors in the 400 meters, which begins with the first round on Wednesday at 9:10 ET.

Bush has an excellent chance of earning All-America honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Bush, who just began racing in the event this April, already owns the school record with a time of 10:10.94, which placed her third at the Big Ten Championships and has her seeded fifth at the NCAA Championships. The semifinals for the 3,000-meter steeplechase start Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.

College Sports Television (CSTV) will broadcast three hours of competition from 8-11 p.m. ET on Friday, June 9, while CBS Sports will air the final day of the championships from 3:30-6 p.m. ET. For results following each day's action, please visit www.msuspartans.com.