When the Missouri Valley Conference Track and Field Championships concluded Saturday, Illinois State returned home in a much better position than they did in 2003.
On the mens side, their 137 points gave them a second place finish overall, nine points behind Northern Iowa, while the women finished in fifth place with 45.50 points. JaRod Tobler was named Most Valuable Male Athlete after scoring 31.50 points this weekend, while Latisha Johnson won the Most Outstanding Female Field Athlete award. However, head coach Elvis Forde praised the entire team for their effort.
I dont know where to start, Forde said. I think it would be unfair to pinpoint any one person because everyone performed so well this weekend. Everyone laid it out on the line and didnt leave anything to chance.
After winning the long jump Friday, Tobler came back and performed in four more events Saturday, taking third in the triple jump (49-7), second in the 60-meter dash (6.89) and third in the 200-meter dash (22.03). On top of that, Tobler teamed up with Miklos Konkoly, Bronco Meeks and Tyler Gaumer to take third place in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:20.41.
JaRod really stepped up today, scoring points in every single event he was in, Forde said. He scored the most points in competition on the mens side.
For Johnson, her record-breaking performance in the shot put Saturday was a story book ending to a stellar indoor career. For the third time this season, she broke the Valley and school record in the event, throwing 52-2 3/4, topping her previous mark of 50-8.
Latisha is a very special kid, Forde said. But everyone on this team is very special. They all performed at a high level.
Tobler and Johnson were not the only Redbird athletes to shine over the weekend. On the mens side, Dan Tripp and Jeremy Doherty finished first and second in the mile with times of 4:09.74 and 4:11.30 respectively, while Miklos Konkoly was conference champion in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:50.89. In throws competition, Brian Krantz won the shot put with a throw of 55-00 1/4, while Rhett Hillard finished second with a distance of 54-11 1/2. Gergely Bata and Pierre Woods finished second and third in the high jump, both finishing with heights of 6-9 3/4. Freshman Camari Brown finished third in the 60 with a time of 6.96.
The womens team moved on after the knee injury to Lauren Maul three weeks ago and had a number of memorable individual performances. Laura Kennedy finished second in the 3,000 with a time of 10:02.30, while Andrea Mosher placed third in the 400 with a time of 55.93. Betsy McDonald picked up points in the mile with a fifth place finishing time of 5:05.01, while Mosher placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.90.
For Forde, his second season with the program is turning into a memorable one and he feels that Illinois State track and field is pointed in the right direction.
Theres no comparison between where we are today to where we were at this time last year, Forde said. "Im very excited for the future of this program because everyone is very committed to what they are doing.
