May 27, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas -
Illinois State freshman Tim Glover finished third in the men's javelin competition Thursday night at the NCAA West Region Preliminary Round in Austin, Texas, which earned him a spot in the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. The top-12 finishers in each event move on to the outdoor championships June 9-12 at Heyward Field.
Glover, the Missouri Valley Conference champion in the event, headed into the preliminary round ranked eighth in the region, but moved up to third overall with a toss of 231'02". The Normal, Ill., native hit the mark on his first attempt of the day and passed on his final two throws knowing he had done enough to advance to the NCAA Championships in his first competitive season.
"I was very impressed with Tim's performance today," ISU head coach Elvis Forde said. "The field was extremely balanced from top to bottom and Tim helped himself out a bit by hitting a big mark on his first throw. That really allowed him to sit back and watch the rest of the competition and feel at ease. Once he knew he was in, he passed on his final couple throws and was able to celebrate. We are all very excited for Tim and we believe he will have a great opportunity at the championships in a couple weeks."
Fellow freshman Brittany Smith just missed out on a trip to the national championship meet, after she finished 13th in the women's shot put competition with a throw of 50'10.25". However, the Oak Park, Ill., native will have to more chances to advance when she competes in the discus on Friday and in the hammer throw on Saturday. Sophomore Tori Ziegler also competed in the shot put Thursday, finishing in 45th place with a toss of 41'07.00".
"It was a tough lesson for Brittany tonight," Forde said. "She fouled a couple of times and missed out on a trip to the championships by one spot. But, she still has two more chances to advance in the discus and hammer throw and we are very confident that she will be able to move on. Today was a good experience for her as just a freshman and it should help her the next couple days."
In other action on the women's side, sophomore Leigh Petranoff finished 26th in the javelin with a toss of 144'10" and freshman Sade Sealy finished 38th in the first round of the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.15 seconds. Sophomore Aisha Praught rounded out the day's action and was 49th in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:47.80.
On the men's side, junior Scott Krapf placed 23rd in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30:23.91 and freshman Curtis Jensen placed 46th in the men's shot put competition with a toss of 49'04.50".
Action resumes Friday at noon with Smith competing in the discus competition. Junior Drew Holl will also compete in the men's high jump competition in the field beginning at 4 p.m. and sophomore Kayode Adegoke will hit the track for the first round of the men's 200-meter dash. The duo of Meaka Brents and Tia Harvey will follow in the women's 200-meter dash at 8 p.m. and Jon Roberts and Praught will round out the second day of competition in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.
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