Illinois States outdoor track and field season kicked off Saturday to sunny skies and warm weather at the Southern Illinois Spring Classic.
Head coach Elvis Forde returned to his alma mater for the third time as head coach of the Redbirds and came away pleased with the performances of both the mens and womens teams.
A lot of people still recognize me when I come here and its always great to remember all the things that happened, but when we start competing I forget about all of that, Forde said. Once competition is over, I remember all of it again, but I want my team to perform well when we come here or any other place and we did that today.
The womens 1,500-meter run saw two Redbirds finish in the top three. Jen Klostermann finished second with a time of 4:38.85, while Betsy McDonald was third with a time of 4:40.28. Klostermann then came back and ran well in the 800, placing third with a time of 2:15.67. Laura Kennedy won the 5,000, clocking in at 17:56.89.
Mary Risius won the high jump with a height of 5-7, while also accomplishing a personal best in the triple jump (36-5 3/4).
Im very happy for Mary, Forde said. Shes been working very hard in practice and I was glad to see her do well today.
Lian Lucas finished second in the 100 with a time of 11.94, while Lindsey Arnold was fourth in the 400, clocking in at 57.77. In throws competition, Taylor Carbaugh and Marjorie Boyd both achieved personal bests in the hammer, with marks of 114-9 and 125-1, respectively.
If this meet is any indication of how the season is going to be, then Im very excited about our chances in the future, Forde said.
On the mens side, the Birds took the top three spots in the 800. Dan Tripp won with a time of 1:53.14, Jeremy Doherty placed second with a time of 1:53.94 and Gabe Cruz took third with a time of 1:54.67. Miklos Konkoly won the 1,500 with a time of 3:59.15 and Camari Brown set a personal best in the 100 by winning the event in 10.71. In the 400 hurdles, Pierre Woods placed second with a time of 53.67, while Tyler Gaumer was a second place finisher in the pole vault with a height of 15-5.
Mark Jackson finished second in the shot put with a throw of 52-6 3/4, while Rhett Hillard set a personal best in the hammer with a throw of 168-6.
The season is still young, but I feel very good about what we accomplished at this event, Forde said.
The Redbirds continue the outdoor season next week when they travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri for the All Sports Classic hosted by Southeast Missouri State.
