All-American Sam Serrano provisionally qualified for the 2001 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 20-lb. weight and Stacia Beste was a double-winner for the Illinois State women in the Early Bird Classic, at Horton Field House, Friday.
Beste cruised to a first-place finishes in the mile and the 3,000, ahead of the nearest opponent by 19 seconds in the mile and 15 in the 3,000.
It was nice to see Stacia in a jersey again after redshirting cross country, first-year head coach Jeff Pigg said. Sam is awesome; she started the season off like the all-American that she is. The entire throws crew did a great job for us. Alfie (Gordillo) stepped up to the plate and is going to be the guy for us.
In the mens throws, Alfie Gordillo finished second in the 35-lb. weight, behind former Redbird Tom Barrett, who competed in the meet unattached. Gordillo went on to captured first in the shot put with a throw of 53-11 1/4.
The success of the Redbird throwers carried over to the jumpers as the ISU men went swept the top three spots in the triple jump. Freshman Jarod Tobler led the way, followed by Chivas Hemphill and Casey Gantt. Tobler finished second in the mens long jump while Nicole Blow and Hildegunn Holten took first and second, respectively in the womens long jump.
Watching the jumpers be competitive and have fun was exciting, Pigg said. Jarod (Tobler) had a heck of a meet. Hes the real deal and will have a big time career.
In the sprints, captain Mark Walcott won the 200 and finished third in the 60, just ahead of teammate Bryan Smith, who finished fourth. Alia Hoyle finished in second in the 60 meter dash in the womens division and Kathrine Nielsen raced to a second-place finish in the 60 meter hurdles.
Cross country runners Andrea Black and Jen Klostermann finished second and third in the 800.
Andrea , Jen and Lauren (Ritt) had a good time on the track tonight, Pigg said. It was fun to see the girls who endured cross country have a blast and place high. They took the bullet for us in cross country and it is paying off.
The Birds are off until January 13, 2001, when they travel to Illinois.
