Virginia Union Univeristy's Marcus Dean leads a group of members of the VUU men's indoor track and field team as the Panthers placed four members among the top 20 in the nation after their performance at the Father Diamond Invitational, held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, January 7.

Dean placed third overall in the triple jump with a leap of 14.28 meters.  Dean's performance landed him at fifth place in the nation and provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Championships.

VUU's Jamaal Petty placed third in the high jump with a leap of 2.05 meters.  Petty also qualified provisionally for the NCAA Championships and is currently placed eighth in the nation.

Virginia Union's Bryan Gurley was fourth in the 60 meters with a time of 6.88 seconds while teammate Dennis Thomas was sixth in the same event with a time of 6.92.  Both provisionally qualified fo the NCAA Championships.  Gurley is ranked 11th in the nation and Thomas is currently 16th.

VUU's team of Deion Dickens, Rashad Smith, Gurley and Tremayne Banks placed sixth in the 4 x 400 with a time of 3:25.75.

Virginia Union now travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., to compete in the Dick Taylor Invitational on the campus of the University of North Caroliuna on January 13 and 14.