TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? Three seasoned veterans and a newcomer will be representing Indiana State University June 10-13 when they compete in the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at John McDonnell Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.
Kylie Hutson, Erica Moore and Lauren Martin will be representing the Indiana State women's team and all three have experience on the national level. On the men's side, Major Clay is completing his first year of competition for the Sycamores and advanced to his first ever national championship with a fifth place finish in the high jump at the Mideast Regional.
Hutson will begin ISU's competition with the qualifying round of the women's pole vault set to begin at 8:15 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday. The finals will be held at 8:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Clay will compete in the qualifying round of the men's high jump at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday with the finals set for 8 p.m. (ET) Friday.
Moore begins competition in the heptathlon at 12:15 p.m. (ET) on Thursday with action in the 100 meter hurdles. Competition will also be held in the high jump, shot put and 200 meters on Thursday with 30 minutes between events. The heptathlon wraps up starting at 2:45 p.m. (ET) Friday with competition in the long jump, javelin and 800 meters.
Martin will be the final Sycamore to begin competition as the qualifying round of the women's triple jump begins at 4:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday with the finals set for 1:00 p.m. (ET) Saturday.
Hutson will be making her third straight appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after placing second in the pole vault at the Mideast Regional. The 2009 NCAA Indoor Champion in the women's pole vault, tied for ninth at the Outdoor Championships a year ago after finishing 14th in her first national championship as a freshman. She is currently ranked fifth in the nation.
The junior out of North Vigo High School (Terre Haute, Ind.) is the school record holder in the outdoor pole vault at 14'2”, a mark she set this year at the Indiana State Pacesetter Invitational on May 2. That mark also established the all-time Missouri Valley Conference record.
A three-time MVC outdoor champion in the pole vault, Hutson is also a three-time MVC indoor champion. She holds the Indiana State and Missouri Valley all-time record in the event with a vault of 14'4.75” which she cleared in winning the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championship.
She is also a two-time Indoor All-American.
Moore will be competing in her second Outdoor Championship after receiving an at-large selection to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the heptathlon. She had provisionally qualified for the event by scoring 5,330 points in winning the heptathlon at the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships in May. She is ranked 22nd nationally in the heptathlon and was also ranked 31st nationally in the 400 meter hurdles.
The junior out of Sullivan High School (Sullivan, Ind.) could also have made the NCAA Championship in the 400 meter hurdles after placing eighth at the Mideast Regional but decided to concentrate on the heptathlon instead.
“We talked about what she wanted to do and she determined that she would felt better about the heptathlon than the 400 hurdles,” John Gartland, Indiana State women's track & field coach said. “To compete in the 400 hurdles, you have to run two races in two days and that takes a lot out of you. The heptathlon is a marathon event with seven events over two days and her competitiveness will serve her well at the nationals.”
Moore competed in the 400 meter hurdles at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships where she placed 19th with a time of 59.55. She also competed at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships in both the pentathlon and 800 meters but did not place in either event.
She holds the Indiana State record in the heptathlon with 5,368 points and in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 57.03, both set in 2008. Moore also holds the school record in the indoor pentathlon at 4,030 points, a total she earned in winning the event at the Iowa State Classic this year, and in the 800 meters with a time of 2:04.94 which she set in winning the event at the Alex Wilson Invitational.
Martin is also making her second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships after placing second in the triple jump at the Mideast Regional. She finished 23rd at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championship. Martin is ranked eighth nationally in that event.
The junior out of James B. Conant High School (Schaumburg, Ill.) set the Indiana State and Missouri Valley Conference all-time record in the triple jump with a leap of 44'4.75” at the Mideast Regional on her sixth, and final, attempt. She is also the Indiana State record holder in the long jump at 20'4.5”, a mark she hit in placing second at the 2009 MVC Outdoor Championships.
She is also the school record holder in the indoor triple jump with a leap of 43'1” set at the 2009 MVC Indoor Championships. The mark also set an all-time MVC and MVC Championship record. Martin competed at the 2009 Indoor National Championships, earning All-American status in the triple jump.
Clay is making his first trip to the NCAA Championship after placing fifth at the Mideast Regional in the high jump with a leap of 7'1”. The sophomore out of Lanphier High School (Springfield, Ill.) won the MVC outdoor title in the high jump and has a career best leap of 7'2.5” set at the Indiana State Pacesetter Invitational. He currently is ranked 11th nationally in the high jump.
Live stats from the NCAA Championship can be found by going to the following link: http://www.ncaa.com/loc/ncaa-c-otrack-loc.html
