March 23, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State track and field team members Maxwell Mkwezalamba and Devon Williams lead the Redbirds into competition as they open their spring season at the Saluki Spring Classic on Friday and Saturday in Carbondale, Ill. Both Mkwezalamba and Williams return to Southern Illinois' campus after winning individual titles at the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships last month.
Head coach Elvis Forde is excited to begin the outdoor season, knowing that the meet will serve as an opportunity to gauge where the team is as they begin to prepare for a run at the Valley title in May.
"We are looking forward to some warm weather," said Forde. "Our athletes are also very excited to get the spring season underway. We are in much better physical health and ready to run in our first outdoor meet. We haven't been doing anything too specific in our preparation. We are just heading into Carbondale to try to get the first meet under our belts.
"Being our first meet of the outdoor season, we are obviously going to be running some athletes in some different events," added Forde. "We are going to try to see where they can fit in during the outdoor season, therefore creating opportunities for some student-athletes to compete in as many events as possible."
Williams leads a deep group of women sprinters into competition, as the Oswego, Ill., native is the reigning conference champion in the 100-meter dash. Senior Lyn Cox, a two-time conference champion, also returns to the group after being unable to compete in the indoor season. The `Birds will also look to Brianna Officer to make strides in the longer sprint events during the spring season.
Leading the women's distance runners, Kathleen Thompson has shown signs of improvement during spring practice. She will counted on heavily this weekend, as Suzy Turner and Kim Ebbesen have both been slowly coming off illness and injury. Freshman Tiffany Harris, usually a short hurdler, will be given an opportunity to try out the long hurdles this weekend. Stacey Turilli will also be competing in the steeplechase.
Mkwezalamba, along with Sam Straughn, Samuel Watts and Kelley Anderson, lead the men's sprinters into spring competition. Straughn and Watts, who also compete in the jumps, will be held to only the sprints this weekend in order to prevent further damage to injuries sustained during the indoor campaign. Carl Azab will see some time in the long hurdles, while Darren Price will be competing in his first meet of the season in the javelin.
Host Southern Illinois, will be joined by fellow Valley members Indiana State, Missouri State and Bradley in the field. Other teams participating are DePaul, Marquette, St. Louis, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, as well as in-state rivals Illinois, Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois.
The women's and men's hammer throw kick off the classic on Friday afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday's competition starts at 11 a.m. with the women's long jump.
