June 5, 2012

MILWAUKEE - Junior Durell Busby of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's track & field team heads to Des Moines, Iowa this week to compete in the NCAA Championships hosted by Drake University at the historic Drake Stadium.

Busby is one of the best in the nation in the 110m hurdles, with the semifinal running on Thursday and the final on Saturday.

Meet Information
The NCAA Championships run from Wednesday through Saturday, with Busby's first run coming Thursday at 6:50 p.m. He was randomly selected to run in the second of the three heats, with the top two from each heat, plus the next two fastest times advancing to the final. That race is slatted for Saturday at 12:07 p.m.

The meet is hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Follow along online with live results, which can be found here. For all other meet information, click here.

Video Preview
Busby and head coach Pete Corfeld sat down with the Black & Gold Network this week to talk about the upcoming national meet as well as the junior's chances at making this year's summer Olympics.

An Incredible Season
Busby has been on fire all season, breaking records seemingly every time he steps onto the track.

So far during the outdoor season, Busby has broken his own school record in the 110m hurdles three times, setting the new standard to an incredible 13.67 seconds, down from 13.91 at the start of the season.

Also, during indoor season, he broke the school and Klotsche Center records in the 60m hurdles and also set the new UWM top time in the 55m hurdles in the only time running the event all season.

Olympic Hopeful
Not only did Busby earn a trip to nationals with his run in the Regional Championships 10 days ago, he also earned his Olympic trial time for his home nation of Trinidad & Tobago. That race will take place in Port of Spain, Trinidad on Saturday, June 23, with a berth to this year's summer Olympics on the line.

A Look At The Field
Busby technically finished 10th at the NCAA West Regional Championships, but had the ninth fastest time overall at the meet. He was the fourth-fastest finisher in his heat, with the top three automatically qualifying. But, Busby posted the fastest time among the non-automatic qualifiers to earn a spot at this year's nationals.

He currently has the 15th-fastest time heading into Thursday's race and the sixth-fastest time in his heat.

Some Panther History
This is the second-straight year Milwaukee has been represented at the national meet. Then sophomore Samia Taylor finished 18th in triple jump last year after an outstanding outdoor season that saw her shatter the school record. Taylor was Milwaukee's first national meet competitor since Nick Gretz in the men's discus throw in 2007. Busby, Taylor and Gretz are the only field competitors to go to nationals for the Panthers since they moved to Division I for the 1991 track season.

The team has garnered a pair of All-American awards, both by Cory Peterson in the indoor 800m (1996, 1997). Other UWM track and field athletes at nationals: Angie Molter (1996 | Outdoor 10,000m) and Tim Kenney (1995 | Indoor 800).

Around the Horizon League
Busby is one of just two Horizon League athletes competing at the national meet. Cassandra Lloyd of Wright State is the only other league representative at this year's NCAA Championships.