Feb. 24, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
All of the hard work and preparation put in during the indoor season will be put to test for the Illinois State track and field teams this weekend, when they face off against the rest of the teams from the Missouri Valley Conference at the 2010 State Farm MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships held Feb. 27-28 at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Prior to competition, the league announced the results of its annual pre-championship coaches' poll. The Redbird women's team was picked to finish fourth with 37 points and the men's team was picked to finish fifth with 13 points. ISU head coach Elvis Forde is aware that most coaches base their votes off the league's best list, but knows there is always room for improvement at the championships.
"These polls are usually an indicator of how many athletes each team has on the Valley best lists and where they rank on those lists," Forde said. "Because most of the coaches base their votes on those best lists, it always gives your team a chance to move up from the pre-championship poll and finish higher over the weekend. Injuries happen and athletes rise to the occasion on big stages like this and that can affect the point totals and team standings dramatically. We will just have to wait and see what happens and how our athletes respond."
Southern Illinois (62 pts.) was tabbed as the pre-championship favorite on the women's side and received seven first-place votes, followed by Wichita State (55 pts.) who received the other first-place vote. Indiana State was picked third with 51 points, followed by the Redbirds, Missouri State (35 pts.), UNI (23 pts.), Drake (16 pts.) and Bradley (10 pts.).
Returning All-Valley performers Amanda Albrecht and Meaka Brents will lead the Redbirds in their respective events, with Albrecht tied for league lead in the high jump (5'08.00") and Brents leading the way in the 60-meter dash (7.49). Brents is also ranked third in the 200-meter dash and is the anchor for the 4x400 meter relay team that currently has the third-fastest time in the league (3:44.19).
Tia Harvey, who ranks fourth in the 60-meter dash (7.68), will compete with Brents for points in the sprint events and freshman Sade Sealy will look to impress in her first championship appearance after coming in ranked fourth in the 400-meter dash (55.14) and third in the 800-meter (2:10.92).
The middle-distance and distance events should also be a strong area for the women's team, as several Redbird rank in the top 10 in those areas. Returning 2009 All-Valley selections Aisha Praught (mile, 3,000) and Michelle Brunk (800) along with Jess Husted (3,000) will look to improve on their already strong efforts and the trio of Kirsten Lang, Sam Bluske and Olivia Myers will jockey for position in the 5,000-meter run in hopes of adding points to the team's final total.
In the field, returning All-Valley performer Tori Ziegler heads in with a NCAA provisional qualifying effort and top-three mark in the Valley in the shot put (50'11.50") and also ranks in the top 10 in the weight throw. Teammates Brittany Smith and Martha Shepard will also look to improve on their season-best efforts in the throws, while Rachelle Harbert attempts to move up into the top half of the standings in the women's pole vault.
"We are very balanced across the board on the women's side heading into the weekend," Forde said. "I think the one area we have a bit of worry about is the jumps, because we have some injuries that are affecting our athletes. We need Kendall Rush to really step up and perform like she did in the beginning of the year. However, we feel strong with Amanda leading the way in the high jump and Meaka is at the top of her game right now in the sprint events. If we can pick up some unexpected points with strong performances in areas like the middle distance and throws, I think we will have a great chance to move up in the point standings."
On the men's side, Southern Illinois received all six of the first-place votes and was picked as the favorite with 36 total points. Indiana State (25 pts.) and UNI (24 pts.) were separated by one point in second and third places, respectively, followed by Wichita State (23 pts.), Illinois State and Drake (6 pts.) to round out the field.
High-jumper Drew Holl will be a strong contender for a conference championship for the Redbirds in the high jump, as he heads into the championships with the second-best jump in the Valley and a NCAA provisional-qualifying effort (7'00.50") that ranks 25th in the country. He will look for support in the field from a trio of triple jumpers ranked in the top-10 in the Valley that includes Tyler Knight (fourth), Ben Pratt (fifth) and Kris Mizel (eighth) and from a trio of throwers in Patrick Trofimuk, Curtis Jensen and Colin Fane.
On the track, Kayode Adegoke will look to improve on his top-10 times in the 200-meter dash (21.92) and in the 60-meter dash (6.99) and hurdlers Kendric Smith (8.21) and Josh Pope (8.33) will hope to move up from their fourth and fifth place times, respectively, over the weekend.
Much like the women's team, the men's middle-distance and distance events should be strong for the Redbirds. The distance medley relay team of Mat Smoody, Tyler Perna, Yosef Tewolde and Steve Regan hold the league's best time in the event (9:57.35) and each will also compete in their respective events looking to gain points as individuals. Also look for returning All-Valley performer Matt Mroczynski to make an impact in the mile, where he has the league's fourth-fastest time (4:11.03), and in the 3,000-meter run which he currently has the fifth-best time in the Valley (8:20.83).
"One of the areas we need to see step up on the men's side is our jumpers," Forde said. "We have Drew to lean on a bit in the high jump, but other than that we need some people to step up and finish in the top half and compete for championships in order to move up in the standings. We will lean heavily on the middle distance and distance runners this weekend to perform well. We have several people in the top half of the best lists in the 800, the mile and the 3,000 meter and they all need to have solid performances."
Action begins on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 10 a.m. with the start of the women's pentathlon and the men's heptathlon events. The field events will begin at approximately 1:45 p.m. with the women's weight throw, and running events will start off with the women's 60-meter dash preliminaries at 3:30 p.m.
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