Howard, Walden Head to Nationals
         Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Tamekia Howard (Florissant, Mo.) and Dan Walden (Springfield) will travel to San Angelo, Texas, as competitors at the 2002 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
         The national meet is a three-day event set for May 23-25 on the campus of Angelo State.
         Howard qualified at 400 meters while Walden is making his second straight appearance in the outdoor championships at 800 meters.
         "Tamekia has made big leaps with her personal records this season," said SIUE Coach Darryl Frerker.
         Howard was ninth on the list of 23 400-meter runners with a time of 55.11 seconds in last Friday's Illini May Twilight meet in Champaign.
         "With that ninth spot, she should get a decent lane to run in. I think she's ready to get after it," Frerker said.
         Howard will run the 400-meter preliminaries at 5:50 p.m. on Thursday, May 23. The finals for 400 meters are 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 25.
         Walden's spot in the national meet was not as certain as he was 17th on the qualifying list. The NCAA committee overseeing the event selected 20 runners in the event. Walden hopes to qualify for the finals on Friday, May 24, at 7:40 p.m. The finals will be the next day at 7:50 p.m.
         "Dan shouldn't be as nervous as he was last year in his first race at national," Frerker said. "This season he's been very consistent with his time and running within a few seconds of his personal best in every race."
         Walden's qualifying time at 800 meters was 1:51.43.
         -siue-