By KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The largest contingent of Indiana State athletes to compete in the track & field post-season will begin competition Thursday at the NCAA East Preliminary round at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. A total of 16 Sycamores will be in competition which is the most in the three-year history of the current system.
The NCAA East will be held at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., May 24-26, with the top 12 finishers in each event advancing to the NCAA Championships to be held June 6-9 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
“We have a very strong contingent of men and women competing this weekend,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's track & field coach, said. “We intend to have a large group qualify for Des Moines.”
Five women will be making the trip including junior Leeann Michl in the 800 meters, junior Stacia Weatherford in the 400 hurdles, junior Richelle Kimble in the pole vault, junior Felisha Johnson in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw, and junior Mary Theisen in the shot put and discus.
“We have a great group of women heading to the prelim round,” Angela Martin, Indiana State women's track & field coach, said. “They are very focused. If they each go into the meet relaxed, have fun, and just do what they have done already this season, we will be successful in getting a great representation of ISU into the NCAA finals at Drake.”
The women will be joined by 11 members of the Sycamore men's team including senior Jeremiah Vaughan in the 1,500 meters, junior Dustin Betz in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, senior Craig Padgett and junior Albaro Escalera in the 10,000 meters, sophomore Greggmar Swift and sophomore Maurice Lyke in the 110 meter high hurdles, senior Major Clay and freshman Jonathon Christensen in the high jump, senior Ernest Rollins in the triple jump, and junior Brandon Pounds in the hammer throw.
One other Sycamore just missed making it into the as sophomore Chris Fields missed by just a half-inch in the shot put.
Johnson and Theisen will begin ISU's competition in the NCAA East at 1 p.m. (ET) Thursday when they go in the women's shot put. Tuttle and Weatherford run in their respective 400 meter hurdle preliminaries at 4:30 and 5 p.m., respectively, with Vaughan going in the 1500 meter preliminaries at 5:30 p.m., and Michl in the 800 meter preliminaries at 8:35 p.m. The top three in each heat plus the the next three fastest will advance to the quarterfinals.
Padgett and Escalera wrap up the first day's competition for ISU in the 10,000 meter run at 9 p.m.
Friday's competition begins at 10:00 a.m. (ET) with Pounds going in the hammer throw. Kimble begins her pole vault competition at 11 a.m. with Johnson and Theisen returning to compete in the discus at 3 p.m. Rollins has hit date with the triple jump at 4:309 p.m. while Swift and Lyke run in the 110 meter hurdle prelims at 5 p.m. The women's 800 meter quarterfinals will run at 7:15 p.m. with the 400 meter hurdle quarterfinals at 7:30 and 7:45 p.m.
Betz wraps up competition for ISU on Friday as he competes in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at 8:50 p.m.
Johnson returns to compete in her third event of the NCAA prelims, the women's hammer, at 2 p.m. Saturday with Clay and Christensen going in the men's high jump at 5 p.m. The quarterfinals of the men's 1,500 meter run will go off at 6:30 p.m. with the quarterfinals of the 110 meter hurdles set for 7:05 p.m.
The top 12 finishers in each event will advance to the final two rounds at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Michl and Weatherford will be making their second appearance at the NCAA East as each was a part of the 4x400 meter relay team that competed for the Sycamore women at the 2010 NCAA East competition and finishing 19th overall.
Kimble is making her third trip to the NCAA East in the pole vault but has yet to clear the opening height, something that she is looking to do this year.
Johnson is also making her third trip to the NCAA East. The junior was sixth in the hammer and ninth in the shot put at the 2011 NCAA East competition to advance to the NCAA Championships while also competing in the shot put at the 2010 NCAA East where she placed 15th.
Theisen transferred to Indiana State from Winona State where she won the NCAA Division II national title in the discus. She was also an All-American in the weight throw, shot put and discus during her time at Winona State.
Major Clay will be competing in the post-season for the fourth straight year. The Sycamore has advanced to the NCAA Championships every year and is looking to continue that streak this year. Clay tied for eighth at the 2011 NCAA East and finished fourth at the 2010 NCAA east while placing fifth at the Mid-East Regional in 2009.
Pounds is returning to the post-season after missing the 2011 campaign with an injured hand. He was 19th in the shot put and 36th in the discus at the 2010 NCAA East competition while also finishing seventh at the Mid-East Regional in 2009.
The NCAA moved away from a regional system after the 2009 season and instituted a two-site preliminary round competition for the NCAA Championships.
Vaughan will be running in the 1,500 meters for the second straight year after finishing 42nd in the event a year ago.
Swift is also making his second straight appearance in the 110 meter hurdles after just missing the cut to advance to the NCAA Championships a year ago with a 13th place finish in 13.93 seconds.
Rollins is the third member of the group that is appearing in the post-season for the second straight year after placing 31st in the triple jump a year ago.
Betz, Padgett, Escalera, Lyke, Tuttle, and Christensen are all appearing in post-season action for the first time.
Indiana State sent 14 athletes (nine women and five men) to the 2010 NCAA East competition with 12 athletes (four women and eight men) competing at the 2011 NCAA East.
SYCAMORES IN THE RANKINGS
The Indiana State men's track & field team ranks 69th in the nation while the women are ranked 98th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) ratings released this week. This week's ratings include athletes who were accepted into the NCAA East and NCAA West preliminary rounds.
The Sycamore men dropped five spots from their 64th ranking at the end of the regular season. Illinois State is the top school from the Missouri Valley Conference at 40th followed by Indiana State (69), Northern Iowa (77), Wichita State (85), and Southern Illinois (109). Among Division I schools in Indiana, the Hoosiers are ranked third nationally followed by Notre Dame (65), Indiana State (69), and Purdue (115).
The Indiana State women moved up four spots from their 102nd ranking at the end of the regular season. Illinois State is the top school from the Missouri Valley Conference at 17th while Southern Illinois is right behind in 18th giving the conference two teams in the top 25. They are followed by Wichita State (33), Northern Iowa (87), Indiana State (98), Missouri State (101), and Drake (169). Among Division I schools in Indiana, the Hoosiers are the top score at 70th followed by Purdue (89), Indiana State (98), Notre Dame (105), Ball State (182), and Butler (194).
University of North Florida Web Site: http://www.unfospreys.com/sports/2011/8/22/MTRK_0822114833.aspx?path=wtrack
