Feb. 24, 2011
MVC Indoor Championships Preview with Elvis Forde
NORMAL, Ill. -
After months of hard work and preparation during the 2010-11 indoor track and field season, the Illinois State track and field teams will put their work to the test this weekend, when they compete against the rest of the teams from the Missouri Valley Conference at the 2011 State Farm MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships held Feb. 26-27 at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Prior to the weekend's competition, the league announced the results of its pre-championship coaches' poll. The Redbird women were picked to finish third with 45 points, with the men's team was predicted to finish fifth with 13 points.
Head track and field coach Elvis Forde thinks the coaches' poll predictions are a good predictor from how the indoor season has played out up to this point.
"The picks hold true to form quite a bit, and it will be up to our student-athletes to change their predicted places," said Forde. "It is going to be a very tough contest both on the men's and women's sides. Each school is well represented and brings a lot of competition all across the board. Overall, it is going to be a very challenging weekend and our health will be the factor that will make a difference in how we perform. "
Wichita State (63 points) was tabbed as the pre-championship favorite heading into the competition on the women's side and received seven first-place votes, followed by Southern Illinois (57 points), who recorded the other first-place vote. Following the Redbirds was Indiana State (40 points) in fourth then Northern Iowa (27 points), Missouri State (26 points), Drake (21 points) and Bradley (9 points)
"On the women's side, most coaches probably believe that Wichita State will win, but for us to move up into second place would be more of a fight than if the men move up into fourth," said Forde. "What is going to help us is how healthy we can keep our short sprinters intact. Meaka Brents and Tia Harvey are very critical components to our short sprints and relays. We are excited to be picked third on the women's side, but the women believe they can be better than that so they look to best Southern Illinois for the second position and get a trophy."
In the field events, Amanda Albrecht will lead the Redbird high jumpers and be a strong contender for a conference championship, as she heads into the weekend with a league-leading jump of 5-10.50. Brittany Smith heads into the weekend with two top-five marks in the Valley and looks to lead the women throws through the championship. Rachelle Harbert will use her school record jump of 12-2.00 and top-10 mark in the pole vault as motivation heading into the weekend's competition, while Hilary Hobler's fifth-best leap on the Valley best list in the long jump will make her a strong competitor in the event.
Despite injuries that have affected the women's sprinters, the student-athletes will be rested and ready to go during the championships. Brents heads into the conference meet with the second-best time in the Valley in the 60-meter dash (7.55), while Harvey enters the championships with the fourth-best time in the conference (7.66). Harvey's strengths are not just found in the 60-meter dash, as she enters the weekend with the third-best mark in the 200-meter dash (24.80). Reigning champ Sade Sealy and Alia McAfee will enter the meet with top-10 times in the 400-meter dash.
Elsewhere on the track, the middle-distance and distance events should also be strong areas for the women's team, as several Redbirds rank in top-10 in those events. Jil Kerkman (800m), Samantha Bluske (3,000m and 5,000m), Aisha Praught (3,000m) will look to improve their already strong marks, as the trio of Praught, Jess Husted and Kristen Zillmer will battle for positions in the mile run in hopes of adding points to the team's final score.
On the men's side, Indiana State earned the most points with 32 and received three first-place votes as the pre-championship favorites. Wichita State (27 points) took second place in the poll with two first-place votes and was followed by Southern Illinois (24 points). In fourth place was Northern Iowa (22 points) with the final first-place vote, while Drake (8 points) took the sixth spot heading into the weekend.
"Our men are picked to finish fifth, and they can improve upon that, but it is going to be a tall task," said Forde. "However, the number of guys we are taking to the championships can make a difference, and they are confident enough to do that. I believe it is possible for the men to make a change, but how far that change can go is hard to tell."
The men's throwers have an opportunity to do well at the championships after a successful indoor season. Curt Jensen will lead the Redbird throwers this weekend and could grab Valley honors, as he goes into the weekend with a league-leading throw of 56-11.25 in the shot put and a top-10 performance list in the weight throw. Akil Mills has the second-best weight throw mark in the Valley heading into the championship, while Chris McIntyre and Anthony Wirth hope to use their top-10 Valley performances in the shot put to earn vital points.
Like Albrecht, high-jumper Drew Holl will be a strong contender for a conference championship with his fourth-best jump on the Valley best list, while Tyler Knight will hope to build off of his strong performances and use his fifth-best jump in triple jump to compete for Valley honors. Both Chase Pavelonis and Mike Ziegler head into the championships with marks on the top-10 list in the pole vault.
On the track, Kayode Adegoke and Kendric Smith will look to improve their top-10 times in the 200-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles, respectively, while Fabian Norgrove hopes to earn Valley honors with his third-place time in the 400-meter dash. Mat Smoody (800m), Nick Geyer (800m), Yosef Tewolde (800m) and John Navarro (mile) will try to build off of their strong marks in the middle-distance events and help add points to the final team score.
"The student-athletes are prepared, and now it depends on how confident they are and how much they believe in themselves at this time is what will make a difference," said Forde. "I feel they are ready to go compete."
Action begins on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 9:30 a.m. with the start of the women's pentathlon and the men's heptathlon events. The field events will begin at approximately 1:15 p.m. with the women's weight throw, and running events will start off with the women's 60-meter dash preliminaries at 3 p.m.
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