Illinois States shot put records took on a new look during Saturdays Musco Twilight Invitational at the University of Iowa.
Latisha Johnson and Rhett Hillard highlighted the night with their performances in the shot put. Johnson broke the school and Missouri Valley Conference record with a first place throw of 52-6 1/2, while Hillard placed third on the mens side with a toss of 58-9 1/4. Hillards throw was second best in school history behind Bruce Ewens 59-6 1/2 in 1983.
Rhett and Latisha have been working hard all year and they are very dedicated, head track and field coach Elvis Forde said. Both of them had a very good weekend and I know theyll do well at the conference championships.
Johnson was one of four first place finishers for the Redbird women, with Brittney Hourd winning the triple jump (38-3 1/2), Andrea Mosher winning the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.46) and Jen Klostermann winning the 800-meter run (2:10.67).
Jen narrowly missed qualifying for the regional meet in the 800, but she still had a very good weekend, Forde said. Hopefully, things will continue to steam roll and this will propel her to becoming a conference champion as well as achieving a qualifying time for the NCAA regional meet.
On the mens side, freshman Camari Brown was champion in the 100-meter dash, finishing with a time of 10.67. Brown also finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.53.
Camari has continued to improve all year and had two good races in the 100 and 200, Forde said. I think he is very dedicated and is very determined to becoming successful on the track and in the classroom.
Senior JaRod Tobler competed for the first time since February, but was only able to perform in the 100, finishing sixth in his heat with a time of 10.94. A knee injury has kept him sidelined since the beginning of the outdoor season, but Forde was happy to see his top point-scorer back in action.
JaRod is still somewhat limited to what he can do because of injuries, but it was nice to see him out there competing, Forde said.
The Redbirds have a week off before hosting the MVC Championships on May 12-15. This is the most critical portion of the season according to Forde.
This time of year everyone has bumps and bruises, but its a time when everyone has to raise their level of performance, Forde said. The athletes have to step up and compete at a high level.
