May 29, 2002

BATON ROUGE, La. - Tulane University senior Solomon Kandie (Nairobi, Kenya) posted a career-best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the preliminary heats on Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at LSU's Bernie Moore Stadium.

Kandie, who entered the event as the 10th seed, qualifies with 11 others for the finals on Friday evening at 8:45 p.m.

Kandie had posted a school record in the steeplechase in March of 2001 with a time of 8:39.21 at the Stanford Relays. However, on Wednesday, he blazed to an 8:38.73 time. Arkansas' Daniel Lincoln won the preliminary heat with a time of 8:36.50. Kandie's previous best time in the event this year was 8:42.92.

The Green Wave senior has twice earned All-America honors in the steeplechase; his top finish was a third place effort at the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

In addition to Kandie, senior Clement Abai (Port Moresby, New Guinea) ran the 800 meters in 1:48.83, the third-best time in school history, to finish in 13th place in the preliminary heats. Unfortunately, only the top nine qualified for the finals.

Tulane's third and final NCAA qualifier is freshman Helmi Leppanen (Kerava, Finland), who will compete in the women's javelin throw on Thursday at 3 p.m.. Leppanen set a school and Conference USA Championship record on May 10 by throwing the javelin 165 feet, seven inches in Louisville. Her distance was a provisional qualifying distance and the 16th best throw in the nation this year.

Further information about the tournament is available at www.ncaachampionships.com. Single-day and full-weekend tickets are available by calling (225) 578-2184 or 1-800-960-8587.

Full results will be available by visiting www.ncaachampionships.com. Tulane results will be available at www.TulaneGreenWave.com at the end of each day.

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