Feb. 5, 2010
Results
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -
There was limited action for the Illinois State track and field teams Friday night at the Meyo Invitational, but those who competed started off the two-day meet well for the Redbirds at the Loftus Sports Complex.
Only 16 events were run on the first evening of competition, with the Redbirds producing some solid performances. Head coach Elvis Forde was pleased with his team's effort on Friday, but knows the competition will be even tougher on Saturday.
"We did not compete in as many events tonight as we usually do, but I was pleased with what I did see," Forde said. "We didn't have the personal-record breaking performances we saw last Friday, but as a coach you can't expect that every meet. What we did see were some solid performances and good technique from our competitors which was what we expected at this point in the season."
The women's distance runners built off their success last weekend and ran solid races. In the 5,000 meters, Kirsten Lang paced the Redbird contingent in 19th place with a time of 17:54.76. Olivia Myers was right behind in 21st place in 17:56.20 and Samantha Bluske rounded out the trio in 24th place with a time of 18:02.84. Then, in the 1,000 meter event, Michelle Brunk ran to a 30th-place finish with a time of 3:00.21.
There were also strong performances in the 300-meter dash by the trio of Meaka Brents, Tia Harvey and Alia McAfee. Brents finished in 10th place with a time of 39.22 seconds, followed by McAfee in 22nd with a time of 40:50. McAfee, who had missed the team's last two meets due to injury, returned to the track and finished with a solid time of 41.55 seconds to place 36th.
Rounding out the action on the women's side were Brittany Smith, Tori Ziegler and Martha Shepard in the weight throw. Smith led the way with a heave of 53'02.75" to place 16th overall, followed closely by Ziegler in 19th place with a distance of 53'01.75". Shepard rounded group with a throw of 45'05.75" to place 40th.
"It was good to see Alia get back out on the track tonight," Forde said. "She has missed the last two weeks of training due to injury and I was interested to see how she would perform in her first test on the track. I thought she ran a solid race and it was good for her to get back to competing at a high level."
On the men's side, Steve Regan and Patrick Morgan represented the Redbirds in the men's 1,000 meter run. Regan finished in 23rd with a time of 2:30.36 and Morgan crossed the finish line in a time of 2:43.73 to finish in 30th place. Anthony Jacks and Alex Forde were the only other competitors for the Redbirds on the first night of competition. Jacks finished 33rd with a time of 36.42 seconds and Forde was just behind in 41st with a time of 37.75 seconds in the 300-meter dash.
Competition resumes at the Meyo Invitational Saturday at 8 a.m. CT with the women's 3,000-meter run.
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