April 24, 2009
Results
DES MOINES, Iowa -
Illinois State long jumper Chris Kirtz earned his first NCAA Regional mark, while Samantha Springer and Leigh Petranoff notched their second qualifying distances in the discus and javelin to highlight the Illinois State track and field team's performances at the 100th annual Drake Relays inside Drake Stadium Friday.
Kritz launched a career-best 24 feet, one inch in the long jump to earn an eighth-place finish in a competitive field. Louisville's Rudon Bastian won the event with a jump of 25-8. Kirtz is the fourth Redbird to earn a NCAA Regional mark and advance to the Midwest Region Track and Field Championships held in Louisville, May 29-30.
Assistant track and field coach Tim Thompson was afraid that Kirtz's jump may have been wind aided and the mark would not have counted, however they found out later that the wind did not exceed 4 .0 meters per second. Therefore the jump was good.
"Chris was hitting the board and was jumping well," said Thompson. "It was just a matter of getting his foot underneath him and he was able to get a good lift and a big jump on his second attempt."
Senior Springer earned her second qualifying mark in the discus with a season-best toss of 160 feet to earn an seventh-place finish. Springer currently holds regional marks in both the discus and hammer throw.
Freshman Petranoff earned her second qualifying mark as she launched a career-best in the javelin firing a distance of 146-3 to earn an eighth-place finish.
Sophomore Amanda Albrecht took fifth in the high jump, clearing 5-7 successfully for the third time this season.
"The field events certainly carried the load for the team," said assistant coach Jeff Bovee. "The field events have been an area that has been consistently getting better and has been hitting the regional mark. Amanda has consistently been clearing 5-7 in the high jump and our women throwers are doing a great job."
In true Drake Relay fashion, numerous relays were run that are not traditionally part of championships level events. That included the distance medley relay, which is usually an indoor relay race. Illinois State's women's distance medley quartet of Michelle Brunk, Brianna Officer, Kim Smudde and Aisha Praught combined to earn a 14th-place finish with a time of 11:54.27.
Brunk ran the first leg of the distance medley relay, turning in a 3:34 split in the 1,200-meters before handing off the baton to Officer, who ran a 57.3, 400-meter split. Smudde ran the 800-meter portion, covering the two laps in a season-best 2:13. Praught anchored, the relay, turning in a time of 5:08 in the 1,600-meter run.
"I thought that the first three legs did well," said Bovee. "Aisha is just coming back and she did the best she could during the last leg of the race. She has been out for the past three weeks recovering from illness so it is good to have her back, she will get another chance to race tomorrow in the steeplechase."
The Drake Relays will conclude Saturday. Springer will get action underway for ISU in the hammer throw, which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. The Redbirds will also be competing at the Stan Lyons Invitational, which is hosted by Butler and held in Indianapolis. The meet is slated to begin at 10 a.m. CDT with the women's hammer throw.
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