May 16, 2009
Results
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -
The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams captured five All-Missouri Valley Conference honors and two NCAA Mideast Regional qualifiers during the second day of competition at the 2009 State Farm MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships from Marks Field in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday.
After the second day of competition with eight events scored the Redbird women are in third place in the team standings with 46 points. Wichita State has positioned itself in first place with 81.5 points and is followed by Southern Illinois (49.5). Northern Iowa currently holds 41.5 points for fourth and were followed by Indiana State and Missouri State who are tied for fifth (40 points). Drake (9.5 points; seventh place) and Bradley (4 points; eighth place) round out the women's team standings.
"Overall the championships for the women are going to be a hard battle," said head coach Elvis Forde. "We have Missouri State, Indiana State, UNI and us fighting for the third place spot. We have qualified a number of people into the finals tomorrow and are expecting all-conference performances from those individuals and we hope they can step up to the challenge. It is going to be a difficult battle for third place so it will be an exciting championship."
On the men's side, ISU has tallied 32 points and currently hold the fifth position. Southern Illinois and Indiana State are knotted with 40 points for first place. UNI is currently in fourth place with 54 points, while Drake rounds out the men's team performances in fifth place and five points.
The Redbird men's and women's throwers had a huge day for Illinois State as freshman Chris McIntyre and senior Samantha Springer both earned All-Conference accolades and picked up career-best marks in the shot put.
McIntyre a walk-on freshman from Deerfield, Ill., earned all-conference honors with a second-place finish in the shot put. His throw of 54-4.50, was a career-best by almost four feet. Freshman Alex Adams took fourth in the event with a personal-best mark of 52-6.75.
"Chris had the best performance of the day," said Forde. "He is a walk-on athlete with no scholarship and had an outstanding performance to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference. He really enjoys what he does and works hard and has really committed to his training."
Throwing a personal-best by over a foot, Springer captured All-MVC accolades and her first ever NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the shot put. The native of Tremont, Ill., earned third place with a distance of 47-11.25. Freshman Tori Ziegler who entered the championships with the Valley's top mark in the shot put finished fourth with a throw of 47-0.25.
"Sam had awesome performance in the shot put," said Forde. "To make a regional qualifier in her third event was very special for her. I think she was taken aback by the enormity of her performance, but it was nice to see her have success in the event."
Sophomore Amanda Albrecht captured second in the high jump clearing a height of 5-7. For the second-straight year the Festus, Mo., native was the runner up in the high jump and collected her second outdoor all-conference honor of her career.
Chris Kirtz finished second in the long jump with a distance of 23-8.25. The sophomore earned his first all-conference honors of his career in the event.
Morgan Schaefer completed the seven-event heptathlon to tally a career-best 4,785 points and earned All-MVC accolades with a third-place finish. The event came down to a tight race in the 800-meter run, with Schaefer running a strong 2:24.35 in the 800 to capture third place in the 800 and third overall. The Rolling Meadows, Ill., native also competed in the long jump (17-0.75) and javelin (100-3).
Kirsten Lang collected her first NCAA Regional qualifying performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:45.19. Lang finished fifth in the event with her career-best performance. Aisha Praught finished seventh in the steeplechase with a time of 10:57.05
In the men's steeplechase John Navarro (9:16.60) and Jon Roberts (9:23.82) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Jason Robbs, a junior college transfer from Neosho Country Community College, took fifth in the hammer throw launching a distance of 183-2.
The following Redbird women qualified for Sunday's finals in their respective events:
Meaka Brents, 100-meter dash (11.97);
Michelle Brunk, 800-meter run (2:12.48);
Alia McAfee, 400-meter dash (58.18);
Brianna Officer, 400-meter dash (57.23);
Megan Thompson, 100-meter hurdles (14.55).
The following Redbird men qualified for Sunday's finals in their respective events:
Kayode Adegoke, 100-meter dash (10.79); 200-meter dash (21.68);
Carl Azab, 400-meter hurdles (54.73);
Nick Geyer, 800-meter run (1:55.83);
John Neisler, 800-meter run (1:56.34);
Josh Pope, 110-meter hurdles (14.93);
The Valley Championships conclude tomorrow, the first event is slated to begin at 8 a.m. CST, with the women's hammer throw. Running events are scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. CST, with the women's 4x100-meter relay.
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