April 24, 2011

(Columbus, OH) The Indiana Invaders' James O'Brien will compete Sunday April 24th in the featured section of the 800 meters at the Jesse Owens Classic hosted by Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.

James "Jimmy" O'Brien, 4th at the 2011 USA Indoor National Championships 800 in February, is the Jesse Owens Classic 800 meter defending champion.  Joining O'Brien in a very competitive 800 meter field is Ricardo Bell.  Bell's first priority in this featured race is early pace-setting duties to enhance the prospects for a very fast April 800 meter race.

In Saturday evening's portion of the Jesse Owens Classic, Juan Carrillo, with teammate Steve Ludwig providing valuable race pace-setting duties, posted a solid season opening 1500 meter race result finishing 4th in the featured section (race video). Carrillo's time of 3:48.89 was his fastest 1500 season opener.

Carrillo and Ludwig will also serve as pace-setters in todays feature Mile race.

Coach Greg Harger said, "It is always a challenge to defend a title and this field of competitors is very good so Jimmy has a great competitive challenge to launch is outdoor 800 campaign". Harger added, "Juan's 1500 last night was in reality his third true 1500 meter race at this level of competition so there is still a lot of learning in play. With his fastest 100 meters being the last 100 and the tactical corrections available in future races we are encouraged for the races on his schedule in June where our training is focused".

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.