June 5, 2007

Texas State senior Abby Ruston and sophomore Robert Melin will compete in field events at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships which get underway Wednesday in Sacramento, Calif.

Ruston is wrapping up a stellar one-year career at Texas State after transferring from Texas A&M. The San Antonio native was named the Southland Conference's Newcomer of the Year following the SLC's Indoor Championship in which she set a conference meet record in the shot put. She went on to place fifth at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship with a season-best mark of 16.61 meters (54-06).

During the outdoor season, Ruston helped lead the Bobcats to the Southland Conference Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship by winning both the shot put and the discus. She won the SLC shot put title with a throw of 16.73 meters.

Two weeks ago, Ruston qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Trials by winning the NCAA Mid West Regional with a throw of 17.23 meters (56-06.50). She enters this week's championship as one of only six competitors in the 28-athlete field to have a qualifying mark of 17 meters this season.

On Thursday, Ruston will lead off Flight Two during the qualifying round of the event which begins at 7:15 p.m. Pacific Time. The top nine finishers plus ties by mark will advance to Saturday morning's finals.

Melin will compete in the qualifying round of the men's discus Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The Swedish national has a qualifying mark of 56.84 meters in the event and is concluding a season in which he won a pair of throwing events at the Southland Conference Outdoors and swept the throwing events at the SLC Indoors.

Again, the top nine finishers plus any ties by mark will advance to the finals of the men's discus. The event's finals are scheduled for Friday at 5:15.