Feb. 14, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams will head to Ames, Iowa to compete at the Iowa State Classic Feb. 15-16. The meet is slated to begin with the running of the women's 60-meter hurdles Friday at 10:15 a.m.
The Iowa State Classic is a premier track and field meet that will host more than 90 schools from around the country, including all eight Missouri Valley Conference teams. Participants will compete on an oversized, 300-meter track.
THE LAST TIME OUT
Several Redbirds had strong performances last weekend, as a select group traveled to Notre Dame, Ind., Feb. 8-9 to compete in the Meyo Invitational. The first day of competition was highlighted by sophomore Scott Krapf in the 5,000-meter run. Krapf ran a personal-best, 14:33.93 in his first 5,000-meters of the season, a performance that put him on top of the Missouri Valley Conference performance list. Senior Devon Williams keyed the second day of competition with season-best finishes in the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Williams' performance over the weekend set her on top of The Valley's performance lists in both events, and earned her the title of MVC Track Athlete of the Week. The Oswego, Ill., native ran the 60-meters in 7.49 seconds, only six-hundredths of a second shy of breaking her personal-best and school record (7.43 sec.). She finished with a time of 24.45 sec. in the 200-meter dash.
A group of Redbirds were also sent to the Bob Keck Invitational Feb. 9 in Bloomington, Ill. At the meet, freshman Colin Fane achieved two career-bests in the weight throw and shot put. Fane placed second in the shot put, throwing a distance of 49-03.75 ft., and fifth in the weight throw with a distance of 47-03.50 ft.
WITH TIME COMES IMPROVEMENT
As the indoor season has progressed, so have the performances of Redbird student-athletes. Each time the `Birds have competed, they have built on their previous performance. Just this past weekend (Feb. 8-9) the track and field team combined for a total of 19 season-best or personal-best performances. Senior Suzy Turner reached a running milestone by achieving a personal-best time of 4:58.39 in the mile at the Meyo Invitational. This marked the first time in her career that she has broken a five-minute mile. Freshman Michelle Brunk dropped almost 10 seconds from her previous mile performance and crossed the finish line in 5:02.62. Freshman Matt Mroczynski recorded a career-best the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:23.10 (20th). The Pulaski, Wis., native currently holds the second-fastest time in the league.
CONFERENCE LEADERS
As of Feb. 14, 23 Illinois State track and field student-athlete's names appear on the Missouri Valley Conference's Top-five performance list. Of those 23, two men and five women hold the top performances in seven events. The men's conference leaders include Scott Krapf in the 5,000-meter run, and Alex Straughn in the high jump and triple jump. Leading the conference for the women are Devon Williams in the 60- and 200-meters, and Michelle Brunk, Anna Lovell, Kim Smudde and Suzy Turner in the distance medley relay (DMR).
WILLIAMS NAMED VALLEY FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Senior Devon Williams was named the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Track Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Meyo Invitational, Feb. 9 in South Bend, Ind., as announced by the league office Feb. 12. Williams finished fourth in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes with season-best times, 7.49 and 24.49, respectively. The Oswego, Ill., native currently holds the conference's top times in both events.
SPRINTERS LOOKING TO STAY STRONG
With senior Jeremy Johnson's recent quad-muscle injury, the men's short-sprint squad will look to junior Luke Henrichs, and seniors Diondre Williams and Kelley Anderson to get out of the blocks and have strong performances for the Redbirds. Johnson, who will not be running this weekend, currently owns the third-best times in The Valley in the 60 and 200, with times of 6.90 and 21.97, respectively.
MERCH IS THE MAN
Freshman Matt Mroczynski (nicknamed Merch) is sixth on the Missouri Valley Conference performance list in the mile, with a personal-best time of 4:16.71 (Feb. 1). Mroczynski needs to shave 12 seconds off his performance in order to gain a NCAA provisional qualifying mark (4:04.80). Last weekend, the freshman ran a 8:23.10 in the 3,000-meters at the Meyo Invitational, a finish that placed him at No. 2 on The Valley's best list. Mroczynski will be competing in the mile at the Iowa State Classic, the event is scheduled to take place Saturday morning.
KRAPF'S RECIPE
The recipe to sophomore Scott Krapf's success is no secret. The distance runner works hard, on-and-off the track, to improve his performance each time he competes. The Danville, Ill., native is No. 1 on The Valley's performance list in the 5,000-meter run, with a personal best time of 14:33.93. He is also No. 4 on The Valley's performance list in the 3,000-meters with a personal-best time of 8:25.36, which he achieved at the Redbird Invitational Jan. 19. Krapf needs to cut 15.34 seconds off his time to break into the ISU all-time best times list. He will be running the 3,000-meter event at the Iowa State Classic Saturday.
ITS TURNER'S TIME TO SHINE
In her final track and field season, senior Suzy Turner has decided it is her time to shine. The Palatine, Ill., native broke her career record and shattered the five-minute mark in the mile, finishing 4:58.39 at the Meyo Invitational Feb. 9. Her finish placed her at the runner up spot on the MVC performance lists. Turner is 10 seconds away from achieving a personal-best in the 3,000-meter run. She is currently owns the eighth spot on The Valley's leaderboard with a time of 10:19.17 in the 3K. Turner is slated to compete in the 3,000-meters at the Iowa State Classic Saturday.
WALCZAK IS READY TO ATTACK
Senior Anton Walczak is ready to attack the weight throw this season. Walczak has already achieved a personal-best at the Redbird Invitational (Jan. 19), launching a distance of 57-08.50 feet. The Cary, Ill., native needs almost four more feet on his personal-best to post a NCAA provisional qualifying mark (61-06.00).
SPRINGER LOOKS TO SPRING FURTHER
Junior Samantha Springer has thrown a personal-best in the weight throw (54-04.75), and has launched the shot put 44-00 ft., only two inches away from a personal-best in the event. Springer will look to spring into action this weekend to increase her distance.
RAGUSA STRIVES TO REACH NEW HEIGHTS
The anticipation is building and finally its time for Nick Ragusa to shine. After coming up short in the first three home meets of the season due to injury, the sophomore is up for the challenge on the pole vault. Ragusa hit a personal-best height of 16-00.75 feet, Feb. 1. The Naperville, Ill., native is seventh in The Valley and will need to add an additional eight inches to his personal-best to contend for the top pole vault.
