May 13, 2005

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A year ago, UTA sophomore Lidna Rosema was a mid-semester addition to the track program. A year later, she became all-conference material.

Rosema earned all-Southland Conference honors with a hammer throw of 49.39 meters (162-feet) and a second-place finish at the 2005 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships here Friday.

The sophomore from Azle, bested her personal-best throw by more than 11 feet on Friday to score the first points of the meet for the Mavericks who are looking for their first team title since 2001.

UTA stands in fifth place after two events with eight points, 13 behind leader and meet host Sam Houston State.

In other events, junior Tara Burns stands in eighth place in the heptathlon with 2,785 points through four events. Texas-San Antonio's Rayanne Dupree leads the event with 3,323 points.

Day two of the championships begins Saturday at 8 a.m. with the conclusion of the heptathlon. Field events begin at 1 p.m. and the running prelims are slated to begin at 5 p.m.