Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Track and Field	Men's SIUE Track and Field SIUE Athletics

May 2, 2005 Track and Field Ready For GLVC Championships         Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's and women's track teams head to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Championships in Romeoville this weekend had a successful stints at the Drake Relays and the Cougar Twilight Meet.         The Cougars set numerous records at the Drake Relays with Jonathan Bannister (Plano, Tex.) leading the charge. Bannister posted the fourth best time at the Relays in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.46 seconds, moving him up on the NCAA provisional qualifying list.         "Jonathan ran a good overall race," said SIUE track coach Ben Beyers. "I know he's got some kinks to work out prior to getting nationals, but this was a good performance on a big stage."         SIUE's foursome of Kyle Rose (Kankakee), Bannister, Ryan Nowakowski (Rochester), and Jeff Fearday (Teutopolis) ran the school record time of 3 minutes, 10.90 seconds in the 1,600-meter relay placing third in the finals.         "The 4 x 400 relay team has been exciting for us all year," said Beyers. "The time they ran should get them back to nationals where I know they'll be shooting to repeat their indoor accomplishment of earning All-American honors."         The Cougars also broke the school records in the 400-meter relay as the team of Brad Blevins (Gillespie), Rose, Jeff Hall (Chicago), and Fearday ran a time of 41.87 seconds and the group then set the record in the 800-meter relay at 1:30.50.         "The 4 x 100 team ran really well," said Beyers. "I'm looking for something good from that team for the remainder of the season. Our 4 x 200 team ran hard and ended up a very close fourth place overall. I think the guys were excited to break the school record but were looking for a higher finish."         At the SIUE Twilight Meet, Tairisha Sawyer (Chicago) set season bests in the 100 meters (12.12) and the 200 meters (24.98).         Kimetha Williams (Bellevue, Neb.) recorded a season-best in the 400 meters with a time a of 56.60, making her an NCAA provisional qualifier.         "Kimetha ran a very solid race," said Beyers. "I know she's got bigger things in mind, but this was an excellent start and puts her right in position to achieve some big things later this season."         Asaki Carr (St. Louis) provisionally qualified with season high in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.75.         "Asaki has been flirting with some fast times all season long," said Beyers. "It's great to see her bringing that intensity and confidence. I'm excited to see where she progresses from here."         On the men's side at the Cougar Twilight, Lee Weeden (Ferguson) provisionally qualified in both the hammer (176-8/53.85m) and the shot put (54-6/16.61m).                 -siue cougars-