Feb. 28, 2010
Complete Results
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -
Freshman Sade Sealy won a conference championship in the women's 400-meter dash to highlight several strong performances for the Illinois State track and field teams on the second day of competition at the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Sunday at the UNI Dome.
The Redbird women's and men's teams finished exactly where they were picked in the pre-championship polls, in fourth (77 pts.) and fifth places (49 pts.), respectively. Wichita State won the team titles on both the men's and women's side, followed by Southern Illinois in second place on both sides.
"I'm a bit disappointed in both finishes in that I thought we left some key points on the track today," head coach Elvis Forde said. "On the women's side, I thought we had a chance to move up to compete with Indiana State for third place, but we missed out on points in some key events that kept us in fourth place. On the men's side, I wasn't as surprised in the finish as much as I was in the point total, which was lower than we expected. However, there were positives on each side and we need to focus on those and improving in the other areas as we head into the outdoor season."
Sealy, ISU's indoor school record holder in 400-meter dash, bested the field in a time of 55.56 seconds to earn the Redbirds' first individual title since Devon Williams won titles in the 60 and 200-meter dashes in 2008. Sealy also picked up All-Valley honors with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash (24.83) and as a member of the 4x400 meter relay team that finished in second place.
"Sade is a special athlete and she showed as a freshman that she is one of the more dynamic athletes in the conference," Forde said. "She ran a great race in the 400, but what was even more impressive was for her to come back and finish third in the 200 and then anchor the second-place relay team soon after. That takes a lot out of your legs to do that in one afternoon, and I was impressed with how she handled it all."
The 4x400 meter relay team of Alia McAfee, Sealy, Tia Harvey and Meaka Brents earned All-Valley honors by finishing second with a time of 3:44.74 to cap off the day for the Redbirds on the track. Brents, like Sealy, was also a multiple All-Valley runner as she placed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.58 seconds and also ran to a seventh-place finish in the 200-meter dash (25.45). McAfee also had a busy day and ran to a solid fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.75 seconds and Harvey was sixth in the 200-meter dash in a time of 25.34 seconds.
In other action on the track, Michelle Brunk just missed out on a top-three finish in the 800-meter run and placed fourth with a time of 2:15.42 and the trio of Kirsten Lang (17:55.03), Olivia Myers (17:55.12) and Sam Bluske (18:03.17) all earned points for the Redbirds in the 5,000-meter run in eighth through tenth places, respectively.
In the field events, NCAA provisional qualifier Tori Ziegler earned All-Valley honors in the shot put with a toss of 50'05.50", followed closely by teammates Brittany Smith (48'01.75) and Martha Shepard (44'03.25") in fourth and eighth places, respectively. Amanda Albrecht also picked up crucial points for ISU in the high jump, with a height of 5'05.00" to finish in fifth place overall.
On the men's side, John Neisler highlighted the day's action as he earned All-Valley honors in the 800-meter run in a time of 1:54.57 followed closely by teammate Yosef Tewolde in fourth place in a time of 1:54.62. Kayode Adegoke was busy as well, with a sixth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (22.23) and an eighth-place finish in the 60-meter dash (7.06). In the mile run, Jon Roberts just missed out on a top-three finish and placed fourth with a time of 4:17.81 and rounding out the action on the track was Kendric Smith, who finished in fifth place in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.28 seconds.
The action in the field was highlighted by the duo of Tyler Knight and Kris Mizel in the triple jump, who both set new personal-best efforts to pick up points for the Redbirds. Knight finished fourth overall with a jump of 48'08.75" and Mizel was right behind in fifth place with a leap of 48'01.25. In the shot put, Curtis Jensen set a new personal-best with a throw of 55'00.75" to finish in sixth place overall and NCAA provisional qualifier Drew Holl rounded out the action in the high jump with an eighth-place finish (6'04.75").
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