April 24, 2012
ST. LOUIS- For her stellar performance at the Mt. SAC Relays this past weekend, senior Aisha Praught was named the Missouri Valley Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week Tuesday, as announced by the league office.
The NCAA Division I Runner-up in the indoor mile, Praught ran an unprecedented 9:51.30 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Mt. SAC, winning the section by five seconds and helping the Illinois State women's track & field team to a No. 12 NCAA Division I ranking. That time was the third-fastest time on the day between all five sections of the event, including the invite elite, which was comprised of mostly professionals.
Her time of 9:51.30 shattered the Illinois State record by 32 seconds (10:23.15) and the Missouri Valley Conference record by 21 seconds (10:12.28), and was five seconds shy of making the all-time performance list in NCAA Division I history. If that wasn't enough, she stands atop the current NCAA Division I best list ranked No. 1, and has posted the sixth-fastest time worldwide this year. In addition, her time was four seconds faster than the Olympic trials A standard (9:55.00), which will allow her to compete in the trials at the end of June.
The Moline, Ill., native holds the top time in the Valley in the steeplechase by 39 seconds over teammate Kristen Zillmer (10:30.43) and is one of four Redbirds holding down the top-four spots. She is also one of three Illinois State track stars that has qualified for the United States Olympic trials, the others being Tim Glover in the javelin and Brittany Smith in the shot put.
Praught continues her outdoor conquest this weekend as she will compete in the 1,500-meter run and will run the mile leg of the distance medley relay at the 103rd Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Fans can follow live updates via Twitter at @ISURedbirds and @ISU_Track_XC.
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