May 9, 2011
ST. LOUIS -
With the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships just around the corner, the Missouri Valley Conference announced the pre-championship men's and women's favorites Monday, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
The Redbird women were picked to finish third and the men were tabbed to finish in fifth place, according to the poll. Wichita State was selected as the pre-championship favorite on both the men's and women's sides. The Shockers' men's team was picked at the top of the standings with 35 points, while the women were picked first with 63 points.
Illinois State holds the third position (46 points) in the women's pre-championship poll, nine points behind Southern Illinois. The Redbirds are led by defending champion Sade Sealy (400m) and Aisha Praught (3,000m steeplechase) on the track. Both are ranked first in the Valley in their respective events heading into the weekend's championships. Sealy ran the 400-meter dash in 54.03 at the Beach Invitational (April 16), while Praught took first on the Valley best list with a personal-best time of 10:23.56 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Mt. SAC Relays (April 14).
In the women's field events, ISU is led by Amanda Albrecht (high jump) and two-time defending champion Leigh Petranoff (javelin), who also sits in No. 1 spots in the Valley in their respective events. Albrecht's personal-best leap of 5-09.75 is the best jump in the MVC, which she accomplished at the Lenny Lyles Invitational (April 22), as Petranoff moved to the top of the best list with a mark of 160-04 at the Beach Invitational (April 16) and will look to defend her back-to-back titles.
The Illinois State men's team tallied 13 points and the fifth-spot in the pre-championship poll. The Redbirds were led by Tim Glover, who was selected as MVC Field Athlete of the Week three times this season and is the defending champ. He heads into the weekend ranked first in the javelin throw on the Valley best list and fifth in the nation. Glover earned his first athlete of the week award April 5, after he won the javelin throw and set a school record with a personal-best mark of 249-00. The sophomore thrower broke his own record, which he set last season at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, with a throw of 233-11.
The weekend's events begin Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m. with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon events. Field events will begin at noon with the men's hammer throw trials and finals and running events will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the women's 10,000-meter final. Action will then resume at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 14, and will eventually conclude Sunday, May 15, with the men's 4x400-meter relay final at approximately 4:05 p.m.
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