Feb. 12, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
With only two weekends remaining until the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Track and Field Indoor Championships (Feb. 28-March 1), the Illinois State track and field teams head to the Iowa State Classic held in Ames, Iowa inside the Lied Recreation Center Friday and Saturday. The premier track and field event will get underway at 1:30 p.m., Friday with the women's pole vault.
"This is going to be a much more difficult contest than what we have faced all year long," said head coach Elvis Forde. "There are schools coming to compete all the way from Canada to the east coast. This is going to be a good test for our athletes since conference is just around the corner. We have to go and execute very well and it is important that we gain confidence and hopefully see some the performances that we expect to see at this time of the year."
The Redbirds are coming off a trip to the Rod McCravy Memorial last weekend, where both the men and women saw improvement.
Last weekend freshman Steve Regan clocked a NCAA provisional qualifying time (1:50.21) in the 800-meter run. While teammate Mat Smoody competed in his first collegiate race clocking in with a time of 1:53.58 in the 800. This weekend Smoody will look to improve his performance in the 800, while Regan will get a second chance in the mile.
Junior Nick Ragusa is coming off a personal-best in the pole vault clearing a height of 16 feet, .75 inches. His mark is the second highest indoor vault in school history.
On the women's side senior Samantha Springer will be competing in the weight throw and shot put. Last weekend Springer threw a personal-best 56-9.5 in the weight throw, she will look to build on that performance.
On the track, sophomore Kirsten Lang set a personal-best time of 9:58.13 in the 3,000-meter. Lang improved upon her previous mark in the event by 41.1 seconds and this weekend will look to do the same in the 5,000-meter run.
"The group competing this weekend is pretty much our conference squad," said Forde. "We are expecting a lot from everyone we are taking."
Over 80 schools from across the country will be competing at the Iowa State Classic. Live results are available by visiting GoRedbirds.com
