Raymond Graham, Freelance Reporter

( L - R ) Simone Facey, Nickeisha Wilson - file

WORLD Championship repre-sentatives, Simone Facey of Texas A&M University and Nickeisha Wilson of Louisiana State University (LSU), will be hoping to end their collegiate careers on high when they compete in the four-day NCAA Track and Field Championships, which start in Iowa, today.

Both Facey and Wilson will be among several Jamaicans who will be competing in the showpiece of Americas college championships, and their performances could play crucial roles in their teams winning, as both schools are the top-ranked teams after dominating their conference and regional meets.

Facey will compete in the 100 and 200 metres, along with the 4x100 metres relay and could compete in the 4x400 if the team title comes down to the final event.

With 10.95 and 22.52 seconds done at the conference meet in high altitude Colorado a few weeks ago, she is ranked number one and two, respectively, in both events.

She will be severely tested as LSU's Kelly Ann Baptist (10.97), Texas University's Alexandria Anderson (11.10), along with Facey's teammate Porscha Lucas (11.17) and her Jamaican counterpart, Nickeisha Anderson out of Kansas University (11.18), who all have good credentials in the 100m.

Facey will have to overcome both Lucas and Anderson in the 200 metres as Lucas, with a world leading 22.29 seconds, has defeated Facey all season while Anderson, who is a better 200 metres runner, beat Facey a week ago at the regional championships.

Most improved female

Anderson, who is ranked number three with a 22.65 seconds clocking, lost by one hundredths of a second to Lucas at regionals and could win here.

Wilson, Jamaica's most improved female runner last year when she finished fourth at the World Championships, will be competing in the 100 and 400 metres hurdles, as well as the 4x400metres. Her times of 12.63 and 55.71 seconds see her at number one and three in both events, respectively. Her biggest threat in the 100 hurdles will come from Virginia Tech's Queen Harrison, who won her Regional with a 12.70 seconds clocking. Wilson will have to overcome Harrison (54.69) and UCLA's Nicole Leach (55.37) seconds, the two top ranked in this event, if she is to end her college career on a winning note.

Eastern Regional triple jump winner, Kimberly Williams of Florida State University, is the only other Jamaican ranked in the top three as she holds the third spot with a jump of 13.83 metres and will be hoping to hold this form going into the Championships.

Other female Jamaicans qualifying for the Championships are LSU's Samantha Henry, who is at number 12 in the 100m with 11.27 and 10th in the 200m with 22.90; LSU's Kayan Thompson (2:04.82) in the 800m and Andrea Linton (13.54m) in the triple jump, who are ranked eighth and ninth, respectively; Tamilee Kerr of Iowa University who sits at number 16 in the heptathlon with a score of 5,532 and University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) team-mates Tanisha Wisdom, 52.71 seconds in the 400m and Meressia James (2:06.49) in the 800, are at number 15 and 23 in their respective events; Louisiana Technical (LA Tech) Nadia Alexander at 12 in the shot put with 16.63m and teammate Phelecia Reynolds, whose 51.59m has her at number 27 in the discuss. The Oklahoma University pair of Latoya Greaves (12.99) at number 10 and Latoya Heath (13.46) seconds at number 24 in the 100m hurdles close off the list.

Texas A&M's Julian Reid is the best ranked Jamaican among the men - number four in the triple jump with 16.55m. He's also ranked 19th in the long jump with 7.78m. Arkansas' Alain Bailey is at number seven in the long jump with 7.94m, with Nebraska Nicholas Gordon holding the number nine spot with 7.91m.

Two other Jamaicans in the University of Oklahoma's Sheldon Leith (13.79) at number 23 in the 110 hurdles; and the UMES's Allodin Fothergill, also at number 23, in the 400m, will be hoping for big performances.