April 1, 2006
Complete Results
NORMAL, Ill. -
With three individuals already qualified early in the season for the NCAA Mideast Regional, Illinois State's women's 4x100-meter relay team added its name to that list.
Devon Williams, Anna Lovell, Cherise Devers and Lian Lucas made up the `Birds 4x100-meter relay team that took second-place in 45.55. Brian Krantz, in the hammer throw, Laura Kennedy in the steeplechase and Lauren Maul in the heptathlon are the only other Redbirds that have qualified for the regional meet.
Illinois State held its own in the sprints, placing three runners in the top six of the 100-meters. Lucas placed third with a time of 11.93, while Williams (12.02) was fifth and Lovell (12.21) was sixth. Lucas came back with a second-place finish in the 200-meters in 24.04 with Williams in fifth in 24.55.
Lovell competed in the 400-meter hurdles with a second-place finish in the event. She turned in a 1:01.01, just missing the regional qualifying mark. Devers came back in the 400-meters, after her top performances in the 4x100 and 100-meter dash to take fourth in 56.48.
Kennedy and Suzy Turner continue to best their efforts each weekend. In the 1,500-meters, the duo turned in season-best times of 4:31.44 and 4:41.52 respectively. Samantha Springer continued to hold her own in the field events with a seventh-place finish in the discus.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Devers, Lovell, Lucas and Brianna Officer turned in a second-place finish in 3:47.71, while the men's relay team placed second as well in 3:14.11.
On the men's side, Dan Tripp and Jeremy Doherty finished in the top five of the 1,500-meters. Tripp (3:54.27) placed third, while Doherty (3:56.79) placed fifth. Bronco Meeks turned in a season-best time, 1:51.02, in the 800-meters for second-place with Geoff Houtman close behind in third in 1:52.55.
Alex Straughn grabbed second-place in the long jump, with a season-best jump of 23-04.50. In the stacked shot put competition, Mark Jackson placed eighth in the event with a throw of 53-06.50. The first through seventh-place competitors each tallied a regional qualifying mark. In the same event, Krantz (51-08.25) placed 11th and came back to place 10th in the discus.
Head coach Elvis Forde liked what he saw from his squad this weekend and the direction it's headed.
"We ran well this weekend," said Forde. "We ran very well in the sprints on the women's side, Laura and Suzy did a great job in the 1,500 and we had very credible performances all around in the throws. We're all excited about the men's and women's performances and what's to come the rest of the season."
Illinois State will be on the road again next weekend to compete in the Big Blue Classic on the campus of Eastern Illinois Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 6-8. The `Birds were scheduled to compete at home next weekend, but opted to compete at EIU.
