Feb. 27, 2011
Complete Results
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -
Amanda Albrecht (high jump), Sade Sealy (400-meter dash) and Mat Smoody (800-meter run) each won a conference championship to highlight several strong performances for the Illinois State track and field teams on the second day of competition at the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Sunday at the UNI Dome. It was the second-consecutive indoor 400-meter title for Sealy, who won the event last season with a time of 55.56.
"We had three conference titles during the second day of competition, which was great to see," said head track and field coach Elvis Forde. "Sade (Sealy) is a repeat winner in the 400-meter dash, which is nice to see her continuing to do well. For Amanda (Albrecht), it is her first time winning a championship, and I am pleased that she was able to do that as a senior during her final indoor season. Mat (Smoody) came to our program with great potential and it is great to see him being able to win a conference title. We expect Mat to continue to produce and do well during the outdoor season."
The women's and the men's teams finished exactly where they were picked in the pre-championship polls, in third (113 points) and fifth (82 points), respectively. Wichita State (186 points) won the women's side, while Indiana State won the men's side (139.50). Southern Illinois finished in second place on both sides.
"We had some good performances and good efforts throughout the entire weekend, but we didn't get any trophies and there is some disappointment there," said Forde. "However, we ran well. We had strong performances from our student-athletes in the men's and women's 60-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash. Our distance runners also did well, as did student-athletes in the field events."
Meaka Brents (7.58) and Tia Harvey (7.64) earned all-conference honors in the 60-meter dash, as the duo finished in second and third places, respectively. Alia McAfee just missed earning All-Valley honors in the 200-meter dash after finishing fourth with a personal-best time of 25.06. Sealy (25.23) and Harvey (25.54) earned points in the 200-meter dash after finishing in sixth and eighth places, respectively. Sealy won the 400-meter dash in 55.78, as McAfee was fifth after completing the race with a personal-best time of 56.31.
Elsewhere on the track, Aisha Praught earned All-Valley honors in the mile run (4:56.12) after running to a third-place finish in the event. Kristen Zillmer (5:04.01) just missed all-conference honors in the mile run after completing the race in fourth, while Jess Husted grabbed 10th (5:10.37). Jil Kerkman finished sixth in the 800-meter run in 2:17.22. Samantha Bluske (17:06.11), Praught (17:24.25) and Olivia Myers (17:28.14) took fourth, seventh and 10th places, respectively, with personal-best times in the 5,000-meter run.
In the women's field events, Brittany Smith grabbed all-conference accolades with her second-place finish in the shot put with a heave of 53-03.75. Albrecht bested the field in the high jump after clearing the bar set at 5-08.00. Becky Anderson finished seventh in the high jump with a leap of 5-05.75, while Rachelle Harbert (11-10.50) and Emily Swift (11-04.50) took seventh and ninth places, respectively, in the pole vault. Albrecht (37-10.75) finished ninth in the triple jump followed by Jen Jenkins (37-04.50) in 10th place.
On the men's side, Kayode Adegoke (6.91) and Ben Sparkman (7.05) ran to fifth- and eighth-place finishes, respectively, in the 60-meter dash, while Adegoke just missed all-conference honors in the 200-meter dash with a fourth-place finish and a personal-best time of 22.01. Fabian Norgrove earned All-Valley accolades in the 400-meter dash (49.02) with a third-place finish and completed the 200-meter dash (22.30) in sixth place.
Still on the track, Smoody won his conference title in the 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 1:52.11. John Navarro ran to a 10th-place finish in the mile run (4:17.71), while Scott Krapf (14:50. 48) and Matt Mroczynski (15:04.06) placed fifth and 10th, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run. In the 60-meter hurdles, Kendric Smith crossed the finish line in sixth place with a personal-best time of 8.15. The 4X400-meter relay team of Coty Kramer, Norgrove, Yosef Tewolde and and Smoody finished second with a mark of 3:19.22 for All-Valley honors.
In the men's field events, Tyler Knight leaped to All-Valley honors in the triple jump (48-08.75) after finishing third and tying his personal-best mark, while Drew Holl just missed all-conference honors in the high jump (6-08.00) with his fourth-place finish. The ISU men dominated the shot put, as Curt Jensen took third earning All-Valley honors with his personal-best throw of 57-00.25, while Chris McIntyre (55-11.00), Colin Fane (50-05.25) and Patrick Trofimuk (49-05.75) finished the event in fourth, ninth and 10th places, respectively.
"Now, we have to evaluate our performances from this weekend and use them to get ready for the outdoor season," said Forde. "We have a chance to do well during the outdoor season because our team is structured more towards the outdoor season. We feel we have a good chance at contending for a Valley title in the outdoor championships."
The Redbirds will return to action March 4-5 at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
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