The Illinois State women had a conference champion in five events Sunday en route to a fourth place finish during the final day of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The women finished with 103 points, while the men placed sixth with 58 points. Host Northern Iowa won on the mens side with 174 points, while the Wichita State women took first with 173 tallies.
As expected, the sprinting events on the womens side were the Redbirds strongest events, with Lian Lucas and Lyn Cox taking the top two spots in the 100-meter dash, both finishing with times of 11.64, respectively. Cox and Lucas also shined in the 200-meter dash, as Cox was champion with a school record time of 23.76, while Lucas was second with a time of 23.84.
Lian and Lyn both had outstanding performances and both dropped their times in the 100 and 200, head coach Elvis Forde said.
Both the womens 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams also took home the conference title Sunday. The 4x100 team of Anna Lovell, Cherise Devers, Lucas and Cox won with a time of 44.85, while the 4x400 squad of Lucas, Devers, Andrea Mosher and Lindsey Arnold won with a NCAA Mid-East Regional qualifying time of 3:41.09. Mosher defended her title in the 400-meter hurdles, winning with a time of 59.20 and qualifying for the regional meet in the process.
Andrea (Mosher) struggled all year long, but really stepped up her performances today, Forde said. She met the challenges at the conference meet.
On the mens side, Bronco Meeks was conference champion in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:50.13, which qualified him for the regional meet.
Bronco really paid his dues and worked very hard in the off-season, Forde said. His hard work paid off today with a win in the 800.
Brian Krantz was third in the discus with a toss of 162-2, while Dan Tripp placed fourth in the 800 (1:52.76) and third in the 1,500 (3:55.42).
Brian (Krantz) is the MVP in the field events in my book, having finished in the top three in three events this weekend, Forde said. Dan (Tripp) had very good performances despite such a short period of time between the 800 and 1,500.
Other notable performances on the womens side included Moshers regional qualifying time in the 400-dash as she finished third (54.54). Lauren Maul scored points in three events Sunday, including a fifth place finish in the high jump (5-3 3/4) and 100-hurdles (14.36), and sixth in the triple jump (40-4 3/4).
I was really proud of the way Lauren (Maul) came in and fought off her injuries and picked up points in several events, Forde said. She made the best of her opportunities.
Laura Kennedy was fourth in the 5,000 with a time of 17:10.26, while Whitney Beals was fifth in the 800 with a time of 2:15.65.
Whitneys performance was the surprise of the meet for us, Forde said. She got better as the year went along, and I think picking up two points at the conference championships as a freshman is going to give her a lot of confidence going into next season.
