The Illinois State track and field teams placed second on both the mens and womens side after stellar performances at the Commodore Invite Friday and Saturday hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
With 118 1/2 points, the Redbirds fell to the host on the womens side while the men, who finished with 147 points, was one-point shy of first-place finisher Middle Tennessee State.
We had an outstanding weekend from both the men and women, head coach Elvis Forde said. The kids really performed well, we had numerous personal bests and overall, it was outstanding.
Latisha Johnson broke the womens outdoor school record in the shot put with a throw of 49-07 while Tori Gaumer broke the record in the pole vault with a height of 11-04 1/4. Other notable finishers on the womens side include Kelli Schulte who won the 1500 meters, Andrea Black who was fourth in the 800 meters followed by Lauren Ritt in sixth place. Johnson was also fourth in the hammer while Andrea Mosher won the 400 meter hurdles despite being sick.
On the mens side, Rhett Hillard had an outstanding performance in the shot put and qualified for regionals while Mark Jackson had a personal best in the event. Chivas Hemphill placed second in the triple jump with a season-best effort and Joe Drevlow was second in the hammer.
Jeremy Doherty won the 1500 meters and Miklos Konkoly was second in the 800 despite a season-best time. Gergely Bata and Pierre Woods placed first and second in the high jump.
We had so many personal best times this weekend it is refreshing to see, Forde said. There were so many outstanding performances and we are just getting better. A lot of good things happened today but there is always room for improvement. We will continue to work towards the conference championship.
The Redbirds return to action at the Drake Relays, April 24-26, in Des Moines, Iowa.
