May 14, 2011
Results
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Despite rainy conditions in the Cedar Falls, Iowa, area Saturday, Illinois State's Amanda Albrecht, Curt Jensen and Aisha Praught all won conference titles in the second day of competition at the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Mark Messersmith Outdoor Track and Field Complex on Northern Iowa's campus.
After two days of competition, the Redbird women are currently in third with 71 points, while the men are fifth with 45 points. Sitting in first place on the women's side is Southern Illinois, and Wichita State is in first on the men's side.
Albrecht won the women's high jump and earned All-Valley honors with a mark of 5-06.00. With the win, Albrecht was the conference high jump champion in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Jensen was the conference champion in the men's shot put and grabbed all-conference accolades with a personal-best mark of 57-02.75. On the track, Praught won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and was an All-Valley performer, after crossing the finishline in 10:36.48.
"The weather conditions were not great today (Saturday)," said head track and field coach Elvis Forde. "It was wet most of the day, but I thought our team had very strong performances even with the poor weather conditions. Amanda was working with a slick surface in the high jump, but was able to adjust and won the outdoor conference title. Amanda also won the indoor conference title, which is quite an accomplishment for her to be a conference champion in both the indoor and outdoor seasons as a senior. Curt did a great job with the muddy conditions in the shot put area, and it was good to see him adjust to the elements. A very special part of our day was in the women's steeplechase, where we finished first and second. Aisha won her first conference title, and it was great to see her hard work pay off."
Three other Redbirds also earned All-Valley honors on the second day of the outdoor championships. Tori Ziegler earned all-conference honors in the women's shot put with a personal-best throw of 52-02.50, as Chris McIntyre grabbed all-conference accolades after finishing third in the men's shot put with a season-best throw of 53-00.75. Kristen Zillmer finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a personal-best time of 10:40.06 for second place and All-Valley honors.
"Tori also had a strong day in the shot put," said Forde. "Hopefully, she will come out tomorrow with the same intensity and do well in the discus. Kristen looked really strong in the steeplechase and gets better every week. McIntyre, who has battled health issues throughout his career, showed how strong of an athlete he is and earned all-conference honors, which was really special to see."
For the women's team, Brittany Smith just missed all-conference accolades in the women's shot put with a season-best mark of 51-11.25, which put her in fourth place. Three Redbirds finished in the top-10 in the women's long jump. Jen Jenkins took sixth in the event with a personal-best leap of 18-06.50, while Lita Wynne was seventh with a mark of 18-04.50. Hilary Hobler's personal-best jump of 17-08.25 put her in 10th place.
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals, Kirsten Lang was seventh with a time of 11:01.08. Sade Sealy will enter Sunday's 400-meter dash finals with the top-qualifying time of 54.84, while teammates Alia McAfee (56.07) and Shandel Ellis, who ran a personal-best time of 57.37, will also race for a conference title. Jil Kerkman, who ran a personal-best time of 2:12.63, and Jess Husted (2:14.70) will compete Sunday in the 800-meter run finals.
On the men's side, Anthony Wirth took eighth place in the men's shot put with a personal-best mark of 51-01.75. After crossing the finishline in 9:37.01, a season-best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, John Navarro finished sixth. Josh Pope qualified for Sunday's finals in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing the race in a personal-best time of 14.70, while Fabian Norgrove will compete in the 400-meter dash finals, after qualifying with a time of 49.01.
"Even though we had a strong day today, we have a lot to do tomorrow," said Forde. "We will have to come out tomorrow and have a solid day and hope the weather is better."
The final day of competition will begin at 11 a.m., with the men's pole vault, while running events will begin at noon with the 100-meter dash.
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