Illinois States Kathrine Nielsen defended her league heptathlon championship and Stacia Beste captured the 10,000 meter run at the 2001 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Redbird mens team picked up 13 team points in the 10,000 meters as Mark Reed took third, Lars Juhl was fourth and Robert Breit finished sixth. Northern Iowas Oliver Bodor won the race with a 30:48 time, 46 seconds faster than Reeds time.
Ryan Meister registered personal bests in the high jump, shot put and 400-meter run on his way to fourth place in the hotly-contested mens decathlon, won by Jason Francis of Indiana State. Just five percent of Francis 6,410 points separated him from Meister, who had a 6,067 score.
Nielsen finished first in the long jump and 800-meter run and placed second in the javelin in the heptathlons final day. The 2000 All-Americans 5,434 score fell just 11 points short of her school record 5,445 set last year, but improved on her NCAA Qualifying standard. Her 2:20.90 time in the 800 was a personal best.The senior from Denmark broke the Illinois State and Valley high jump records with a jump of 511 1/2 on Wednesday.
The weather was tough, but it was great field of competitors made it easy to get a great competition this week, said Nielsen.
Beste, a 2000 Academic All-American, became ISUs first 10,000 meter champion since Sue Daggetts string of four straight from 1994 to 1997. It was her fourth Valley title.
I was trying to relax when I got up to a comfortable lead, but I got a little impatient and really started to turn it on earlier than I wanted to, said Beste, who won by 30 seconds over Southwest Missouri States Dana Holland.
The Redbirds took three of the six scoring spots in the heptathlon as junior Hillary Hyland took fourth place (4,560) and sophomore Hildegunn Holten (4,552) finished fifth. Illinois States womens team, picked third in the pre-meet coaches poll, took the lead into the final two days of the meet with 26 points, 10 more than second-place Southwest Missouri State.
The Redbird men, picked fourth in the coaches poll, are No. 3 with 15 points, five short of Indiana States 20. The Sycamores have a two-point lead over Northern Iowa.
