Sydney Laufenberg continued Illinois State's successful showing at the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Round Friday, punching her ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in. She is the second Redbird to advance and joins teammate Kameesha Smith who qualified yesterday in high jump.
"Sydney had a strong opening throw and was able to build momentum on the second attempt and establish herself from there," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee. "She is back to throwing consistently and will be threat at the NCAA championships in two weeks."
Laufenberg threw for a mark of 55.28m (181-04) to finish 11th in her third appearance at the NCAA West Prelims. The junior is a two-time MVC champion in discus and currently holds the school record of 56.99m (187-00), having set it at the Ole Miss Classic on March 30.
Both Laufenberg and Smith will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, June 5-8.
Other Notable Performances:
Women's Pole Vault
35th – Ariana Cranston (4.07m/13-04.25) – personal best
The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Round will resume for the Redbirds tomorrow at 4:45 p.m. CT with the men's shot put.
Redbird track & field fans can watch a live stream of the NCAA West Preliminary Round as FloTrack subscribers. Live stats will also be made available over the course of the meet. For live updates, follow the Redbird track & field Twitter account @Redbird_TrackXC. Full coverage will be available on GoRedbirds.com following the conclusion of each day of competition.
A list of Illinois State student-athletes that are competing Saturday is listed below (all times Central).
4:45 p.m. – Logan Calvin, Shot Put First Round
7:15 p.m. – Julia Bourke, Kassie Hoyme, Brandy Thomas, Tayler Weaver, Shot Put First Round
8:45 p.m. – Jack Anstey, 1500-meter Quarterfinal
For all the latest on Redbird track & field and cross country, visit GoRedbirds.com and follow the 'Birds on Twitter (@Redbird_TrackXC), Instagram (@redbird_trackxc), and Facebook (@redbirdsTF).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
