April 17, 2008

GREENSBORO, NC - The Winston-Salem State Rams and Lady Rams track & field teams will be running for more than just times and finishes this weekend when the teams take part in the 2008 International Friendship and Freedom Games. Not only will the team be participating one of the fastest tracks in the nation, the team will also take part in an event that celebrates this battle for civil rights.

The Rams and Lady Rams will be lining up on one of the fastest tracks in the country, the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University. The 2007 edition of the games produced the fastest time in the world in the men's 200m dash (20.21), by Lashawn Merritt and the 110m hurdles 913.21), by David Oliver. The track has been host to some of the biggest events in the nation, including the NCAA Regional Championships, the USATF National Youth Nationals, the North Carolina High School State Championship Meet, and a number of conference championships.

The International Friendship and Freedom Games are about more than just times and finishes, however. The purpose of the event is to bring attention to the "A&T Four", the revolutionary North Carolina A&T freshmen who carried out the lunch counter sit-in of February 1, 1960 in Greensboro, NC. The four freshmen left campus to go to the lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth, a place where blacks were refused service. The effort proved to be the beginning of the "Sit-In Movement" and was a critical part of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

The meet will feature a melting pot of top flight competition from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Southern Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, as well as others. Joining the Winston-Salem State Rams and Lady Rams will be teams from Bethune-Cookman, Elon, Methodist University, North Carolina Central, UNC-Greensboro, Voorhees College, North Texas, and host North Carolina A&T.

Friday's events are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start at the Irwin Belk Stadium. Saturday's competition is set for a 9:00 a.m. start for running events and a noon start for field events. The official website for the meet is www.internationalfriendshipfreedomgames.com.

For additional information on WSSU track & field, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2909 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURams.com.