Jan. 21, 2011
Meet Program
NORMAL, Ill. - Sophomore Brittany Smith will look to build off of her strong performances so far during the 2010-11 indoor track season, when the Illinois State track and field teams host in-state rivals Northern Illinois and Western Illinois Saturday for the Illinois State Invitational inside historic Horton Field House.
The Illinois State Invitational will start at 11 a.m., with the women's shot put followed by the running events starting at noon with the women's 60-meter hurdles.
The Redbirds have competed in two meets so far during the indoor season. ISU opened the season at home on Dec. 4, 2010, with the Redbird Open and dominated the meet by winning 14 events. After the holiday break, the Redbirds competed last weekend (Jan. 15) in Terre Haute, Ind., in an annual dual meet with Missouri Valley Conference rival Indiana State and fell to the Sycamores on both the men's and women's side.
Head track and field coach Elvis Forde is looking forward to seeing how the Redbirds perform and grow during Saturday's meet.
"This weekend's meet is on a smaller scale, and we will get to run our kids in different events and give them a break before competing in some of the larger meets of our season with trips to Illinois, Notre Dame and Iowa State," said Forde. "We are looking forward to seeing where we are at again this weekend and working out some of the kinks, while giving the student-athletes a chance to gain more confidence."
Smith had a day to remember at ISU's dual meet with Indiana State, as she set two school records and two new career-bests in the weight throw and shot put. The sophomore won the women's shot put and set a school record with a heave of 53-11.75. Smith continued the memorable day with a second-place finish in the women's weight throw with a toss of 64-02.25 for another school record. She currently has the second best throw in the Valley in the shot put with a toss of 53-11.75.
Junior Aisha Praught finished the mile in first place with a time of 5:06 at the dual meet with Indiana State. Praught maintained her strong performance throughout the day, as she won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:08.18.
On the men's side, Curt Jensen won the shot put at the Indiana State dual meet with a throw of 53-00.75. Jensen currently has the second-best throw in the shot put with a toss of 53-08.25, which he achieved during ISU's season-opening meet. Mat Smoody finished second in the 800-meter run in Terre Haute, Ind., with a time of 1:57.16.
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