Jan. 26, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
After recording 15 first-place and 13 second-place finishes at last weekend's Redbird Invitational, the Illinois State track and field team will try to build on those performances Saturday when it travels to compete in the Gene Edmonds Cup. The meet begins at 11:00 a.m. in Lambert Fieldhouse in West Lafayette. Ind.
The Redbirds will be joined by meet-host Purdue, as well as Missouri and Missouri Valley Conference member Indiana State. Head coach Elvis Forde is excited for the upcoming weekend, hoping that the Redbirds will be able to maintain the level of effort that was exhibited at last weekend's meet.
"The main thing we are looking for this weekend is to carry the effort that we had this past weekend," said Forde. "I'm going to hope that we can duplicate that kind of effort. I have always been a believer that if you can duplicate the high level of effort every time you compete, that good things will happen.
"We are just asking all of our athletes, from our throwers to our sprinters, to give that extra effort," added Forde. "We are going to need that effort because we are going up against some very good teams."
The women's team will be led by Junior Devon Williams, who at last weekend's meet won both the 60-meter (7.62) and 200-meter (25.06) dashes for the third consecutive meet to open up the indoor season. Senior Betsy McDonald also will be looked to for a strong performance in the distance events, as she placed first in the mile last week, clocking in at 5:10.81. Other first place finishers from last week included junior Frannie Epps (60-meter hurdles), sophomore Kim Smudde (800-meter run), sophomore Kathleen Thompson (3,000-meter run), and the 4x400-meter relay team of junior Anna Lovell, sophomore Brianna Officer, Smudde and Williams.
In the throws, sophomore Samantha Springer threw two personal-best marks at the Redbird Invitational in the weight throw and shot put. Springer finished in first in the shot put with a throw of 43-08.75 feet, while placing second in the weight throw with a toss of 52-01.25 feet.
On the men's side, junior Kelley Anderson will lead the Redbirds, as the St. Louis native had wins last weekend in both the 60-meter (7.03) and 200-meter dashes (22.88). Junior Alex Straughn will also be another leader for the `Birds, as he won the high jump with a score of 6-09.50 as well as placing first in the long jump (22-03.00). The Redbirds will also look for solid outings from Junior DeAndre Tillman (400-meter dash), sophomore Mike Richardson (mile run), as well as throwers Joe Painter and Anton Walczak. At the Redbird Invitational, Painter established a new personal record in the shot put, finishing in second place with a throw of 49-05.00 feet, while Walczak's throw of 53-05.00 feet in the weight throw was a season-high.
Field events will kick off the competition at 11 a.m., followed by track events beginning at 12:30 p.m.
