The Illinois State track and field teams trip to the campus of Vanderbilt during the week of Spring Break was a success according to head coach Elvis Forde.
It was a trip that saw two Redbird throwers earn NCAA Regional qualifying marks, with Brian Krantz winning the hammer at the Vanderbilt Spring Classic Saturday, throwing a distance of 57.71 meters. Rhett Hillard was the other regional qualifier, taking second in the shot put with a throw of 16.71 meters.
In addition to the meet, the Redbirds spent a long week of training outdoors for the first time this spring and Forde saw a lot of positives come out of the trip.
Considering that we had a very tough week of training, I thought we performed very well this weekend, Forde said. Im excited about qualifying two for the NCAA Regionals, but Im also excited about starting the season. This upcoming week will not be as rigorous of training as the last one.
As for the team, several Redbirds earned top performances. On the womens side, Lyn Cox picked up where she left off from the indoor season by taking second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.94, while Lian Lucas was third (12.00). Anna Lovell was first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.14, while Andrea Mosher won the 400 with a time of 56.50.
Lauren Maul made her first appearance since suffering a knee injury in February 2004, and won the 100-hurdles (14.51). In the 5,000, Laura Kennedy won with a time of 17.37.44. The 4x100 relay team of Lovell, Cox, Devon Williams and Lucas won with a time of 46.08, while the 4x400-relay team of Lovell, Cherise Devers, Lindsey Arnold and Mosher also took home first (3:48.88).
In the womens throws, Janine Zylinski won both the discuss and shot put with throws of 40.47 and 12.28 meters respectively, while Taylor Carbaugh was first in the hammer and Frannie Epps was first in the javelin.
On the mens side, Kelley Anderson won the 100 (10.81) and placed second in the 200 (22.08), while DeAndre Tillman finished first in the 400 (50.77). Jorge Prez won the 110 and 400 hurdles with times of 15.64 and 57.47, while Dan Tripp finished first in the 800 with a time of 1:53.91. Bronco Meeks won the 1,500 with a time of 4:00.20.
The mens 4x100 relay squad of Prez, Anderson, Tillman and Wade Rippy won with a time of 43.02.
The Redbirds next meet will be the Saluki Spring Classic on Saturday, March 26 in Carbondale.
