March 5, 2011
AMES, Iowa -
Brittany Smith broke her own school record in the shot put and improved her provisional-qualifying mark at the NCAA Qualifier Meet hosted by Iowa State at the Lied Recreational Facility Saturday afternoon with a heave of 54-05.25 for a third-place finish. The Oak Park, Ill., native previously broke the record at the Indiana State Dual (Jan. 15), where she recorded a throw of 53-11.75.
"Our expectation for Brittany is that her throw was enough to move her up the NCAA performance-best list, and she will make it to the national championships," said head track and field coach Elvis Forde. "Now, we have to wait and see what happens around the country and how the other last chance meets play out. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping she will be able to advance and compete next weekend."
After breaking a school record, Smith finished fourth in the weight throw with a heave of 62-02.25, but could not improve her provisional-qualifying mark in that event. Elsewhere on the women's side, Amanda Albrecht was not able to improve on her provisional-qualifying mark in the high jump and finished fifth with a leap of 5-07.75. Albrecht and Smith will have to wait until early next week to see if their marks qualified them for the national championships.
Curt Jensen represented the men's team and grabbed a sixth-place finish in the shot put with a toss of 56-02.50.
"Amanda and Curt competed really hard today (Saturday)," said Forde. "Curt had a good throw in the shot put, but it was not enough to move him up the performance list enough to advance to the national championships. Amanda tried her best, and that is all we can ask of her. She did not get the mark she wanted, and like Brittany, we have to wait and see how the other meets finish."
If any of the Redbirds advance, they will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships, March 11-12, in College Station, Texas.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
