Three members of the Illinois State track and field teams concluded their seasons Thursday at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Gergely Bata, Joe Drevlow and Andrea Mosher represented the Redbirds at the national event.
Drevlow failed to advance past the qualifying round in the men's hammer after tossing the hammer 192 feet. Mosher, who competed as a freshman, ran the women's 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.62, finished fifth in her heat in the preliminary run. Only the top two in each heat plus the next six best times advanced to the semi-final run.
Gergely Bata, a junior from Hungary, finished ninth in the second flight of the men's high jump with a mark of 6-10 3/4 which failed to advance him to to the next round.
Overall, head coach Elvis FOrde was pleased with his athlete's performances but wasn't suprised with the outcome given the level of competition.
"You expect the best when you come to the national championships and that is exactly what we got," Forde said. "It was a great experience, however, especially for Andrea and Gergely. The experience they got at this event will only help the team next year and also individually.
"It was a challenging year for our teams but we improved and that was good to see," Forde continued. "I am pleased with what we accomplished and look forward to seeing where we will be next year and how the performances at this event will influence the team's performances next season."
