June 26, 2005
(INDIANAPOLIS) The Indiana Invaders experienced a complete shut out with this weekend's 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Carson, California on June 23-26, 2005. This is the first time in the club's history where no athletes advance to the finals of their event.

Jacob Koczman, a 2004 Olympic Trials Finalist, missed advancement by .02 seconds with his time of 1:50.95 in the preliminary rounds of the 800. Koczman's poor tactical race execution set the tone for the remainder of the weekend.

Brandon Hon, a 2004 Olympic Trials qualifier, was the second Invader to meet with misfortune. After taking the lead in his opening round race with a strong start, Hon experienced technique problems with the fourth hurdle and lost critical momentum for the remaining hurdles. Hon's time of 14.15 in the 110 high hurdles was not sufficient to advance.

Carri Long, a two-time Olympic Trials competitor, struggled to be competitive in the high jump. Long was one of seven high jumpers that failed to clear the opening height.

Hunter Spencer's time of 3:47.16 in the 1500 was not sufficient to advance him to the next round of competition.

Dameion Smith, a 2004 Olympic Trials competitor, was unable to advance to the finals of the hammer throw after fouling each of his three attempts. Smith was ranked seventh going into the Championship.

Francesca Green, a 2004 Olympic Trials competitor, was 16th in the long jump with a performance of 5.98 meters.

Adam Shunk, a 2004 Olympic Trials Finalist, one of only four US high jumpers with the World Championships "A" Qualifying Standard going into the competition, took eighth in the high jump with a leap of 2.17 meters as the final Invaders athlete to compete over the weekend.

Team Director Greg Harger said, "This was a first for the team to not have a contender in the finals at USA Outdoor Nationals." Harger added, "In being shut out with every event, we experienced something that happens in sport from time to time for no apparent reason. This was unexpected based on everyone coming off of career or season best marks as their entry marks going into the Championship. This weekend's experiences are certainly not a set back in the bigger picture as it's already a huge motivating factor for these seven athletes as we look toward 2006 USA Nationals in Indianapolis."

This is the Invaders' seventh appearance at the USA Outdoor Championships where over the course of their first seven seasons of competition at USA Track & Field National Championships, the Indiana Invaders have produced 112 athlete appearances and seven qualifying efforts for USA National Teams.

In 2004, the Invaders placed five athletes in the top 10 at the U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials in Sacramento, California.

2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships:
http://usatf.org/events/2005/USAOutdoorTFChampionships/