Feb. 11, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State track and field team signed its first six student-athletes of the 2009-10 season, as Samantha Bluske (Pardeeville, Wis.), Hilary Hobler (Lincoln, Ill.), Jen Jenkins (Rochelle, Ill.), Brittany Smith (Oak Park, Ill.), Brea Tinney (Osceola, Wis.) and Juliet Vogel (Roselle, Ill.) signed National Letters of Intent (NLI) to continue their athletic careers and education at Illinois State.
Head track and field coach Elvis Forde is happy with the group and attributes the high-caliber signing class to all the hard work and effort of his assistant coaches.
"The beautiful thing about all the women we have signed this year is that these young ladies are the epitome of the hard work of coach (Jeff) Bovee, coach (Jeff) Chakouian and coach (Tim) Thompson," said Forde."They have brought in athletes that will take our program in the direction we are working towards. We are looking for recruits that can come out right away and compete and score points at the Missouri Valley Conference championships. We still have a couple of more recruits that we are looking at and plan on adding later."
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Samantha Bluske
Pardeeville, Wis. | Pardeeville High School | Distance | Cross Country
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Placed in the top-10 at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA) Cross Country Championships all four years ... finished in t
he top-10 at the WIAA Division 3 Track and Field Championships for three-straight years ... won the 2007 WIAA Division 3 Cross Country Championship with a time of 15:15.4 ... placed second at the 2008 WIAA Division 3 State Cross Country Championship, running a personal-best time of 14:52.7 ... a two-time runner-up in the 3,200-meter run at the WIAA Division 3 Track and Field Championship meet in 2006 and 2007 ... placed sixth in the 3,200 with a personal-best time of 11:10.83 minutes at the 2008 WIAA Division 2 Championships ... placed second at the 2007 state championships in the 1,600-meter run with at time of 5:05.
Coach Forde on Bluske
"Samantha has a wide range from the 800 (meter run) on up and will surely help us from track to cross country. I think Samantha brings a lot to the table, and by talking to her, she is someone that is not going to wait around for anyone to tell her, you need to do well. She has the initiative to be very successful."
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Hilary Hobler
Lincoln, Ill. | Lincoln Community High School | Long Jump |
Recorded a jump of 17 feet, 10 inches in the long jump at the 2008 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class AA Track and Field Championships to finish 11th ... holds a personal-best long jump of 18-2.25 ... took top honors at the 2008 Panatagraph Area Honor Roll Meet and at the 2008 Peoria Area Meet of Champions in the long jump ... won the long jump at the 2008 IHSA Class AA Sectional Championship Meet ... her 4x200-meter relay team won its conference and sectional meet and qualified for state ... is a three-sport varsity athlete competing in track, cheerleading and volleyball.
Coach Forde on Hobler
"Hilary is going to bring some feistiness into the event (long jump). She has accomplished some things in the long jump that we haven't had here from an incoming high school athlete in a while. She still has the rest of her high school career left, and I don't see why she can't be in the 18-foot range as a long jumper. Also, with her running background, her speed on the runway will translate to better jumps. We are looking forward to her growing into her role and helping us out right off the bat."
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Jen Jenkins
Rochelle, Ill. | Rochelle Township High School | Triple Jump | Long Jump |
Finished seventh in the triple jump at the 2008 IHSA Class AA Track and Field Championships, launching a distance of 37-1.75 ... first track and field athlete in school history to earn all-state honors ... recorded a personal-best long jump of 17-5.5 during the 2008 season ... set school records in four areas ... was the first indoor state qualifier in school history.
Coach Forde on Jenkins
"Jen is both a triple and long jumper and has had some very good performances in high school. She clearly stated she wants to accomplish some big things in her college career. She wanted to come into a competitive league, and the MVC brings that, and she wants to help us bring championships to ISU. She is a combination sprinter and jumper. She is more into the jumps, but any good jumper has a very good background in the 100-meters, as well. Our hopes are that her jumping is good enough that she can help our sprinting group, as well."
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Brittany Smith
Oak Park, Ill. | Oak Park-River Forest High School | Discus | Shot Put |
Holds the Illinois top returning throw in the discus throw and third top mark in the shot put ... a two-time all-state shot putter ... placed fifth in the discus (143-2.6) and eighth in the shot put (41-0.75) at the 2008 IHSA Class AA Track and Field Championships ... broke the West Suburban Conference record in the discus ... won the shot put at the 2008 West Suburban Silver Girls Indoor Conference Championship ... also a member of the girls' basketball team.
Coach Forde on Smith
"Brittany has a combination of size, quickness and strength that is going to help her tremendously. She is someone that wants to improve quickly. All indicators show that she is going to have a very good (high school) track and field season this year, and when she gets here in the fall, we hope she and Tori (Ziegler) are going to be two of the tougher athletes in the conference because she (Smith) has all the physical qualities to be a high-level thrower."
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Brea Tinney
Osceola, Wis. | Distance | Cross Country |
Four time all-state in cross country and three time all-state in track and field ... a Roy Griak Invitational Champion ... finished fourth at the 2008 Wisconsin Interscholastic Association (WIAA) Division 2 Cross Country Championships, covering the 4,000-meter course in a personal-best time of 14:57.8 ... has finished in the top-ten at the state cross country championships all four years, including a second-place finish her sophomore year ... qualified for the 2008 WIAA Division 2 Track and Field Championships Meet in three events, where she took eighth in the 800-meter run (2:21.35), fourth in the 1600-meter run (5:09.40) and anchored the 4x800-meter relay team to a second place finish (9:39.55).
Coach Forde on Tinney
"Brea has very similar credentials to Samantha Bluske. She is very athletic and is a good basketball player. I think she is very focused on what she wants to do with the rest of her high school track and field career. She has had a remarkable career so far, and she is still very young to the sport of cross country and running. She is going to add depth to the Illinois State cross country and track in the mile and 3,000 meters. I think she brings a certain determination, and we can expect to see her at the head of the roster.
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Juliet Vogel
Roselle, Ill. | Lake Park High School | Middle Distance | Cross Country |
Placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.6 at the 2008 track and field sectionals ... 3,200-meter relay team took first with a time of 9:32 at the 2008 Illinois Prep top times meet
Coach Forde on Vogel
"Juliet is more of a middle-distance type in terms of what she brings to the table. She is going to have some work ahead of her. The conference is tough in that area. It is always good to have a background in cross country, but I believe Juliet's primary focus will be track. However, you never know. Sometimes, competition brings out the best in us, and a half-miler could do well in cross country.
