Complete Track and Field Notes | April 3,2008 
April 3, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams will look to build on their performances from last weekend (SIU Spring Classic) as they head to the Eastern Illinois Big Blue Classic, to be held Friday and Saturday at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Ill. The first day of competition (Friday) will begin at 2 p.m., while day two (Saturday) will get started with the field events at 10:30 a.m.
The EIU Big Blue Classic is a team-scored meet. A total of 11 teams will be competing at the meet, including Missouri Valley Conference foes Indiana State and Bradley.
The Redbirds will be bringing a full team to compete at the meet. Illinois State head track and field coach Elvis Forde is hoping for some nicer weather conditions than his team experienced last weekend, as well as some strong performances.
"The weather has been a real crucial part in all the things that we do in all aspects of our program," said Forde. "Typically, we have had a couple of good days to train outdoors; however, this year, our days have been limited to a very small portion, and it has slowed us down in some regard. We just have to try to `weather the storm' each and every weekend until nature decides to bring sunshine and warmth. Nevertheless, we still have to compete and look for competitive performances."
Looking to get back into the swing of things after battling a hamstring injury, senior Jeremy Johnson will be competing for the first time since the Iowa State Classic (Feb. 15). Johnson is scheduled to compete in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
"It will be good to have Jeremy back competing again," said Forde. "Our biggest fear this time of year is injury. Our athletes try so hard and they could pull a hamstring or have something go wrong, and that is where we are most concerned, especially in the sprint area. We just have to hope that they go out and compete to the best of their ability."
In the distance events, sophomore Scott Krapf, along with freshmen Matt Mroczynski, John Navarro and Jon Roberts will look to build speed as they compete in the 1,500-meter run. Junior Mike Richardson, Navarro and Roberts will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
In the jumps, senior Alex Straughn will look to surpass his marks in both the high jump and triple jump. The MVC Field Athlete of the Week for the week of April 2, achieved the 16th-best triple jump in the nation, at last weekend's SIU Classic, launching a distance of 49-11.25 feet. Also looking to improve on his personal-best jumping performance is freshman Chris Kritz.
In the throwing events, senior Anton Walczak, a regional qualifier in the hammer throw, will lead the Redbird throwers into competition.
Senior distance runner Suzy Turner will take to the outdoor track for the first time, where she will run the 1,500, while senior sprinters Devon Williams and Anna Lovell will look to gain strong performances in the short sprints for the Redbirds.
In the field events, junior Samantha Springer will head into the weekend with a qualifying mark in the hammer and will look to add regional qualifying marks in the discus and shot put.
