Feb. 16, 2007
Results
CHARLESTON, Ill. -
Sophomore Samantha Springer recorded a personal-best score in the shot put with a throw of 44-01.50 ft. and freshman Scott Krapf won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:48.45, leading the Illinois State track and field team at the Friday Night Special, hosted by Eastern Illinois Friday afternoon at Lantz Indoor Fieldhouse in Charleston, Ill.
Even though most of the Redbirds' point scorers did not compete, opting to rest for the upcoming State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships (Feb. 23-24), head coach Elvis Forde felt that other members of the Redbird track and field teams had the opportunity to show their abilities at the meet.
"Our group of throwers had a pretty good day," said Forde. "Samantha Springer was able to come back after taking some time off and had a great performance. We also had some consistency from the men's throwers, especially Blake Gish and Joe Painter in the shot put as well as Anton Walczak and Bryan Chancellor in the weight throw. We brought our kids to the meet to give them a chance to get more experience and to also impress us in hopes of adding them to the conference championship roster."
In the men's shot put, Gish finished in second in with a throw of 49-11.75 ft and Painter finished in fourth (48-08.00 ft.). In the weight throw, Walczak placed fourth with a score of 53-10.50 ft. and Chancellor finished with a throw 50-08.00 ft. and in ninth.
The women's squad had two individuals record first place finishes. In the women's 3,000-meter run, freshman Kim Ebbesen finished in first with a time of 10:56.09. Junior Anna Lovell won the long jump, finishing with a jump of 18-04.25 ft.
Lovell and freshman Tiffany Harris each recorded season-best times as well as second place finishes in the sprints. Harris finished the 60-meter hurdles in 9.10 seconds, while Lovell completed the 60-meter dash in 7.65 seconds. Sophomore Brianna Officer also finished in second place in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 59.39 seconds.
Junior Brian Glaza finished with a season-best time in the mile run, clocking in at 4:19.26 and in second place. Junior Diondre Williams also posted a season-best time in the 200-meter dash (22.98), while freshman Justin Caldwell finished the 400-meter dash in 51.70 seconds.
The event also featured junior colleges, as the Friday Night Special served as the Regional Qualifier for the National Junior College Indoor Championships.
