April 27, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
Select members of the Illinois State track and field teams will compete at the 102nd running of the Drake Relays Thursday, April 28 through Saturday, April 30. The Relays are one of the most popular track and field meets in the world, and are hosted by Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, on the Jim Duncan Track inside Drake Stadium.
The Drake Relays, which are also known as "America's Athletic Classic", attract world-class athletes, including many Olympic gold medalists. In order to compete in the relays, teams must submit performance lists, and only the elite are allowed to compete.
The prestigious meet attracts colleges and universities from all over the United States. There will be 128 men's university/college teams with 1,381 athletes competing during the meet. On the women's side, 128 teams and 1,295 athletes will participate.
The Redbird women qualified participants in 10 individual events and six relays, while the men will compete in seven individual events and six relays.
Last weekend, the Redbirds competed at the Lenny Lyles Invitational, where they won seven events. Sade Sealy won the women's 400-meter dash with a time of 55.07, while Fabian Norgrove bested the competition in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 48.00. Mat Smoody ran to a first-place finish in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.65, as Kristen Zillmer won her second-straight 3000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best time of 10:51.62.
In the field events, Rachelle Harbert cleared 12-03.75 for a first place in the women's pole vault, while Leigh Petranoff's throw of 148-03.25 gave her first place in the javelin throw. Akil Mills won the men's hammer throw with a career-best mark of 190-03.25.
Smoody will compete first for the Redbirds Thursday, as he is scheduled to compete in the 800-meter run at 4 p.m.
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