May 6, 2006 T&F CONCLUDE FINAL MEET, TURN FOCUS TO MVC CHAMPIONSHIPS BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana State wrapped up the final warm-up to the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a strong showing at the Billy Hayes Invitational on Friday night. Athletes set and improved on regional qualifying marks as the team gears up for next week’s action in Wichita. Indiana State sprinters had one of their best days of the season with two athletes setting regional qualifying times in the 200-meter and 400-meter dash. Jerry Clopton set a personal-best mark with a 21.06 second-place finish in the men’s 200-meter dash. Sean Wright followed up the performance with a personal-best time of 47.18 and second-place finish in the 400. Jordan Fife, who has already qualified regionally for the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, set a qualifying mark in the men’s 1,500-meter with a fourth-place finishing time of 3:46.66 in the 1,500-meter invitational event. The depth of ISU distance runners was shown with season-best times in the same event with Sean Bowman and Kyle Walsh crossing the finish line with times of 3:49.00 and 3:51.48, respectively. Justin Kunz also poured in a solid performance with a second-place finish in the men’s 3,000-meter run, finishing at 8:35.55. Blaine Zimmerman continued the long distance hot streak with a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running 9:27.52. Paladin Jordan improved on his regional qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles after a second-place 52.10 finish. The junior also flew to a regional qualifying mark in the men’s triple jump with a first-place distance of 49 feet 7.75 inches. Other top contributors for the men included the 4 x 400-meter relay team that narrowly missed the regional standard of 3:10.00 with a second-place time of 3:10.51. Charlie Sparks finished third the men’s discus (171’-10”) with a regional qualifying mark. Sparks has made regionally qualifying marks in even meet while throwing the discus this year. Drew Traub battled to a first-place finish in the men’s shot put with a final throw of 59 feet four inches. And Jake Conn set a season-best mark in the men’s pole vault, clearing 16 feet 2.75 inches en route to a second-place finish. For the women, Janae Bridges finished first in the long jump with a bound of 18 feet 11.25 inches and then set a season-best time in the women’s 200-meter dash with a fourth-place time of 24.77. Myra Bess was the other top finisher on the track for the women after a third-place finish in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line at 1:01.87. Julia Costello in the 800-meter run and Chara Lane in the 100-meter hurdles picked up season-best times of 2:18.80 and 15.09, respectively. The women had some of their best performances in the field events on the heels of Bridges mark in the long jump. Santia Spight would finish in third in the women’s high jump, clearing the bar at five feet seven inches. Senior Melissa Ullenbruch was a half-inch shy of her season-best mark in the pole vault after a third-place clearance of 12 feet 5.5 inches. Lisa Barrett rounded out the highlights for the women with a second-place finish in the women’s javelin throw. Barrett set a mark of 123 feet eight inches in the effort. Both teams stand in good position heading into the MVC Outdoor
Championships next weekend on the campus of Wichita State University.
Indiana State’s men finished third while the women finished
fifth in 2005 at the Outdoor Championships. The meet begins Friday
and runs through Sunday, when the champion is determined.
|