June 15, 2009
OSCEOLA, Wis. -
The Illinois State women's track and field and cross country teams have a bright future in distance running with the addition of standout recruit Brea Tinney, who will be a freshman at Illinois State in the fall. Tinney won the Wisconsin state title in both the 1600- and 3200-meter runs, while winning the 1600-meter run at the Midwest Senior Spotlight Meet, which is a competition featuring top seniors in track and field from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.
"Brea is a unique find for Illinois State because she was a three-sport athlete," said head cross country coach Jeff Bovee. "Brea ran cross country, played basketball and participated in track. She was being recruited for basketball and decided to focus on track and cross country. So, she has never trained year round for track or cross country. Brea placed in the top-four in the Wisconsin state cross country meet for three years in a row and won her first track state title this year in the 1600-meter dash."
The Osceola, Wis., native won the 1600-meter run in the state meet, crossing the finish line in 5:01.69, while improving her time in the Senior Spotlight Meet with a 4:57.71 effort. She won the state title in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:46.51.
Tinney signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) with the Redbirds in February and plans to major in either physical therapy or secondary English education.
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