When the Illinois State track and field team took part in the Badger Elite Invite last Saturday in Madison, Wis., head coach Elvis Forde was especially pleased with the performances of seniors Lauren Maul and JaRod Tobler.
On Tuesday, the Missouri Valley Conference took notice, naming both Maul and Tobler the Male and Female Conference Field Athletes of the Week.
Its always great for the athletes to win these awards and they should feel proud of their achievement, Forde said. Were very excited for those two athletes. They work hard and they are leading us by example by going out and doing the things we know theyre capable of doing.
A native of St. Lucy, Barbados, Maul won the indoor long jump Saturday with a school-record leap of 19-11. The mark was a season best in the Valley and it was the second time this season that Maul won the event. Maul also placed second in the 60-meter hurdles Saturday with a time of 8.76.
Tobler, a native of Aurora, won the indoor long jump Saturday with a leap of 25-1 1/4, which was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and it also tied his own school record. This is the second time this season Tobler was honored by the Valley. Tobler, along with senior thrower Latisha Johnson were honored as conference athletes of the week for their performances in the Early Bird Invite on Dec. 6, 2003.
They (Maul and Tobler) have put in the time and energy to achieve these accolades and were very happy to have them in our program, Forde said.
The Redbird track and field team returns to action this Saturday when they travel to Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio State Invitational.
