April 29, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
After hosting the first of two home meets last weekend at the Redbird Track Complex, the Illinois State track and field teams will head back to the road Friday and Saturday, April 30-May 1, to compete at the 25th Jesse Owens Track Classic at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Action begins on Friday, April 30, at 1 p.m. CDT with the men's hammer throw. Running events will then begin at 6:30 p.m. with the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and will conclude at approximately 9:35 p.m. with the men's 1,500-meter run. Competition will resume Saturday, May 1, at 10 a.m. with the men's and women's long jump, with running events set to begin at 11 a.m. with the women's 4x100-meter relay.
Four nationally-ranked women's teams and five ranked men's team will compete in the annual meet. The Jesse Owens Track Classic gives scholastic, collegiate and post-collegiate athletes the opportunity to perform at their highest levels in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. In its history, the Jesse Owens Track Classic has served as a top venue for many future and former Olympians, including John Drummond, Carl Lewis, Michelle Finn, Allen Johnson, Edwin Moses, and Dwight Stones.
"This is a national-caliber meet and will be great test for some of our top athletes to go against some of the best competitors in the country," head coach Elvis Forde said. "Their performances this weekend will give them a good indication of where they stack up in the West Region and what they have to do in order to make the regional field. This meet is also one of those stepping stones where our athletes can gauge their preparation level heading into the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in two weeks. We'll find out a lot about their toughness and mental preparation when they compete in a meet of this magnitude."
The Redbirds are coming off a strong performance last weekend at the Redbird Spring Invitational in Normal, Ill. ISU won 18-of-38 events on the day against the likes of Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois and cross-town foe Illinois Wesleyan.
The women's field events produced some of the most memorable moments of the day. In the pole vault competition, sophomore Rachelle Harbert broke the outdoor school record and placed first overall with a height of 12'00". Freshman Brittany Smith continued her progression as one of the best throwers in the Missouri Valley Conference and picked up wins in the discus (157'10"), hammer throw (179'04") and shot put (48'04") events. Last year's Valley champion in the javelin, sophomore Leigh Petranoff, capped off the dominance in the field events with her fourth win of the spring in the event with a throw of 157'04".
On the men's side, freshman Tim Glover picked up his third win of the season in the javelin with a toss of 214'03" and senior Sam Watts earned his first win of the season in the long jump with a leap of 23'00.50". The wins kept coming in the distance events, as sophomore Steve Regan posted a victory in the 800-meters with a season-best time of 1:53.39 and senior Scott Krapf tallied a personal-best time of 3:56.81 in the 1,500-meters to pick up a win.
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