April 30, 2010

(Indianapolis) The Indiana Invaders return to the 25th Anniversary edition of the Jesse Owens Track Classic hosted by Ohio State University Track & Field. The Indiana Invaders will compete in featured races Friday evening and Saturday afternoon April 30^th and May 1^st.  Annually, the Jesse Owens Track Classic produces numerous outstanding performances and has in recent years featured high performance middle distance races.  Leading the Indiana Invaders appearance will be USA National Indoor 800 meter qualifier James "Jimmy" O'Brien in his first competition as a post-collegian in his home state of Ohio.

O’Brien will test his early season fitness over 800 meters on Saturday afternoon after serving as a pace-setter for the featured 1500 meter race Friday evening. Also competing in the 800 meter will be Ricardo “Ricky” Bell in his first 800 of the outdoor season.

Nathanael “Nate” Browning will contest the 400 meters and Steve Ludwig will open his outdoor season at 1500 meters.

Coach Greg Harger said, "Coach Gary has provided excellent commitment to high performance opportunities for collegiate and post-collegiate athletes at Jesse Owens the past few years and we enjoy this high level of competition close to home" Harger added, "This weekend will see Ludwig get things going outdoors while we take a look at progress for Bell and Browning at their specialty event and we take an early look at O’Brien’s strength in having him double back from a hard pace setting effort Friday evening.  The team is now just 5 weeks away from the front end of our target window where we expect to race our best so it is time to get in some good race settings". 

The Indiana Invaders, a not-for-profit organization competing at USA National Championships since 1999, provide a resident-based, athlete-centered support system based in Indianapolis, Indiana.