May 11, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa. -
Sophomore Kathleen Thompson and freshman Kim Ebbesen both recorded points in the women's 10,000-meter run, leading the Illinois State track and field team during the first day of the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships Friday. Thompson finished the race in fourth place, while Ebbesen placed seventh at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Thompson crossed the finish line in 37:01.96 and scored five points. Ebbesen, who finished in 37:34.65, scored two points for the women's squad.
Head coach Elvis Forde was pleased with the performances from Thompson and Ebbesen and hopes that they can spark some momentum heading into tomorrow's events.
"Kathleen and Kim had wonderful performances today," said Forde. "They were able to run very well, and were able to put some points on the board. Hopefully we can get our top athletes to do some special things, and they got the women's team off to a good start today."
The women's squad also had a solid outing from sophomore Samantha Springer, who posted a personal-best in the hammer throw. Springer finished in fourth place, tossing a distance of 176-05 feet. Junior Frannie Epps also had a great day, as she finished the first day of the heptathlon in fifth place. Epps recorded her best finish of the day in the shot put, winning the event with a throw of 36-11.50 feet.
Epps also posted a personal-best in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing in second place with a time of 14.53 seconds.
The women's team finished the first three events in fifth place, recording 15 points. Wichita State, the 2007 indoor champions, are in first with 25 points. Northern Iowa (19) sits in second and Southern Illinois is in third.
On the men's side, junior Anton Walczak finished in fifth place in the hammer throw. Walczak tossed a distance of 174-09 feet and scored four points. Freshman Scott Krapf also scored two points, finishing in seventh place (31:31.09) in the men's 10,000-meters.
After the first three events of the competition, the men's team sits in fifth place. Southern Illinois (38 points) is in the team lead, while Wichita State is in second with 37 points. Indiana State (23) is in third and Northern Iowa is fourth with eight points.
Saturday's events will begin at 11 a.m. with the final events of the men's decathlon. For live, event-by-event results, please visit www.mvc-sports.com.
