Feb. 21, 2008

BOSTON -- Two North Carolina Central University Eagles, each with the last name Davis, will compete among the nation's best sprinters and jumpers in the 2008 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-24, inside the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston.

Christopher Davis, a junior from Charlotte, N.C. (Providence H.S.), will run in the 60-meter dash, while Mark Davis, a sophomore from Cape Coral, Fla. (Cypress Lake H.S.), will perform in the high jump.

Christopher Davis, the 2007 NCAA Division II 60m dash national champion, qualified for the USA Indoor Championships with the eighth-fastest time in a field of 17 sprinters. His qualifying time of 6.65 seconds broke the meet record during the semifinals of the Penn State National Invitational on Jan. 26. The first round of the 60m dash will take place at 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the semifinals on Sunday at 3:20 p.m. and the finals at 6:44 p.m.

"Chris pushed really hard to qualify for the USA Indoor Championships," said NCCU head coach Michael Lawson. "His success is a credit to his hard work and discipline. His achievements this weekend will depend upon how focused he is, because he will be running with the best amateur and professional sprinters in the United States."

Mark Davis, winner of the 2007 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) high jump championship (outdoor), qualified with a leap of 2.18 meters (7'-1.75") to rank ninth in a field of 11 competitors. He posted his qualifying mark during a victory at the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Feb. 2. He also won the high jump event at the Clemson Invitational on Jan. 19, and placed second at the Penn State National Invitational on Jan. 26. The high jump finals are slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

"Mark has the potential to be a 7-foot-3 or better high jumper," Lawson said of Davis, who cleared 7-3 to win the conference championship in the spring of 2007. "Being a relative newcomer on the national scene, he has to go in with a positive attitude and have the confidence that he belongs there."

The AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships is the world's oldest indoor track championship, with the first meet being held in 1888 in New York.

For more information, visit the official web site of the 2008 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships at http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/USAIndoorTFChampionships/.