The Iowa State Classic was the final tune-up for the Illinois State track and field team before the conference championships, and head coach Elvis Forde feels that his team is ready for the next challenge.
Forde was particularly pleased with the performances in the distance medley relay considering that neither team had run the event until Friday.
The womens team of Betsy McDonald, Andrea Mosher, Leah Smith and Suzy Turner finished 10th with a time of 11:59.63, while the mens team of Bronco Meeks, DeAndre Tillman, Geoff Houtman and Jeremy Doherty placed seventh with a time of 9:56.38.
The DMR was a very good effort all around, Forde said. For not having done the event all year, I was happy with the way we performed.
In other performances, the womens 200-meter dash also saw its share of decent performances by the Redbirds as Lyn Cox finished ninth with a time of 24.67. Lian Lucas finished 17th (25.07), Lindsey Arnold was 22nd (25.12) and Anna Lovell was 23rd (25.15).
The consistency in the 200 carried over from last week, Forde said. The girls ran really well and I fully expect them to be ready for the conference championships.
In other womens events, Lovell was 13th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.72, while McDonald was 14th in the mile with a time of 4:59.43. In the 400-meter dash, Mosher was 11th (55.30), while Arnold finished 23rd (56.55).
The womens 4x400-meter relay team of Cherise Devers, Arnold, Mosher and Lucas placed sixth and set a new school record with a time of 3:44.38.
On the mens side, Rhett Hillard had another decent showing in the shot put, finishing eighth with a throw of 57-2 1/4. Mark Jackson finished 19th with a throw of 54-0 1/2 and was 20th in the weight throw (59-5 1/2). Brian Krantz finished 22nd in the weight with a toss of 58-10, while Dan Tripp placed eighth in the mile with a personal best time of 4:05.29. Bronco Meeks finished 34th in the 800-meter dash, achieving a time of 1:52.02.
It was an impressive day for Dan in the mile and Bronco in the 800, Forde said. Overall, were starting to come around and this meet should give us confidence.
The Redbirds take a week off before heading to Carbondale for the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 25-26.
