With the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships nearly a month away, the Illinois State track and field team looks to make further strides this Saturday when it travels to the Lee Calhoun Memorial on the campus of Western Illinois.
Its been a long season so far and now were looking to put everything together, assistant track and field coach Chris Bailey said. Hopefully well have some good weather as we prepare for big meets like the Drake Relays, conference and regionals.
Bailey, who works primarily with the middle distance runners, traveled with Jeremy Doherty and Dan Tripp to the Texas Relays last week. Both Doherty and Tripp competed in the 1,500, with Doherty placing second (3:48.98) and Tripp taking seventh (3:49.87).
Jeremy and Dan are both coming off tremendous indoor seasons and we wanted to give them a chance to compete against the best, Bailey said. We wanted to give them an opportunity not only to run in warm weather, but also to run in a great track and field atmosphere. I thought they did a great job.
In the womens middle distance events, Jen Klostermann is coming off a second place finish in the 800-meter run at the Gatorade Classic in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, while Betsy McDonald was fourth in the 1,500. Diana Ainsley will compete for the first time during the 2004 outdoor season after injuries kept her sidelined the last two weeks.
Diana is going to run this weekend, but there wont be any pressure put on her as far as running a certain time, Bailey said. My first concern is her health. I just wanted to get her back out there and let her compete.
JaRod Tobler has also been hit with the injury bug, battling a sore knee the past two weeks. He will again sit out this weekend.
The best thing for JaRod right now is for him to take the time to get healthy, Bailey said. Were going to need a healthy JaRod when the conference meet gets here. Hes our top point scorer and hes someone that the other kids look up to.
Assistant track and field coach for throws Brent Chumbley, along with Latisha Johnson, Mark Jackson and Rhett Hillard will not be traveling to Macomb this weekend. Chumbley is taking his top three throwers to the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Johnson will compete in the shot put, Jackson in the hammer and Hillard in the shot and hammer. Like Doherty and Tripp, Chumbley wanted to give his athletes a chance to compete at a major track and field event.
Weve had good competition this year, but we havent had the big meet atmosphere, Chumbley said. I wanted to give them the chance to experience that before we go to Drake and the conference meet. This way, well be prepared once those meets get here.
