A journey that started in December will conclude this weekend when the Illinois State track and field team takes part in the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships.
Team competition is set to begin Friday morning with the mens hammer throw at 9 a.m. Running events begin at 2 p.m. with the finals of the mens 3,000-meter steeplechase. Competition concludes Saturday.
The meet officially began on Wednesday with the womens heptathlon and mens decathlon. Koya Webb of Wichita State won the heptahlon with a score of 5,190 points, while Paul Speer of Wichita State took the title in the decathlon with a score of 7,564 points. In the womens 10,000-meter run Thursday, Casey Owens of Southwest Missouri State won with a time of 35:44.89, while Nathan Wadsworth of Wichita State won the mens 10,000 with a time of (time). The Redbirds Mike Estlund finished 11th with a time of 33:16.55.
Illinois State head track and field coach Elvis Forde has been eagerly awaiting the championships all season and is looking forward to the beginning of team competition Friday in the Redbirds home facility.
Hosting the championships gives our athletes a chance to perform at home, which is always important, Forde said Everything is going very well so far, and its an environment where the athletes can perform at a high level.
On the mens side, the Redbirds have been hobbled by injuries to Missouri Valley Conference indoor champions JaRod Tobler and Brian Krantz. Nevertheless, Forde is still expecting a big meet from many of his top point-scorers. In the throwing events, Mark Jackson and Rhett Hillard will lead Illinois State. Hillard has the top throw in the Valley shot put this season, throwing 58-9 1/4 at the Musco Twilight two weeks ago. Mark Jackson holds the top spot in the hammer, throwing a distance of 184-6 in the Billy Hayes Invite two weeks ago.
In the distance events, Jeremy Doherty and Dan Tripp hold down the top two spots in the Valleys 1,500-meter run best list, while Tobler is expected to compete and score points in the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash and 4x100 relay. Senior Pierre Woods is a Valley favorite in the high jump and 110-meter hurdles.
I have no doubt that we will perform well, Forde said. This contest is going to be very exciting and its going to be a fight with Northern Iowa and Wichita State.
On the womens side, Latisha Johnson enters her final MVC Championship as a Redbird with both the Valley and school record in the shot put. The Jacksonville, Ill., native set the mark of 52-6 1/2 two weeks ago at the Musco Twilight. Senior Jen Klostermann will look to hit the NCAA Regional mark in the 800-meter run. Her season-best is 2:10.67 is less than a second away from the qualifying time of 2:10.29.
Andrea Mosher has already qualified for the regional meet in the 400-meter hurdles (59.63) and was part of the record-breaking 4x400 relay team (3:43.02) that qualified for regionals at the Drake Relays in April. In the short sprints, Forde will look to Lian Lucas, Cherise Devers and Lindsey Arnold to score points for the Redbirds.
SMS is the team everyone is gunning for on the womens side, Forde said. Well need several individuals to step up and perform at a top level in order to battle it out with the top teams.
