TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? For a quartet of Indiana State track & field student-athletes, the 2008 outdoor season has been a very memorable one. This weekend, that season will come to an end at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship for Steve Daniel, Kylie Hutson, Lauren Martin and Erica Moore as each has hopes of winning an NCAA title and being named an All-American at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Not since 1999 have four Sycamores qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship. During that season, ISU greats Aubrey Herring, Frankie Young, Carrie Meyers and Jenny Folz all competed in the meet and this year's group will be looking for a similar strong showing for their university.
The women's team will be well represented with three national qualifiers, its most since 1994 when Holli Hyche, Cindy Dobbs, Anisa Evans, Omegia Keeys and Julie Koebcke all quailed for the outdoor championships for the Sycamores. Thanks to the strong national performances from this year's trio heading into the championship weekend, the ISU women's team has moved up to 43rd in the latest USTFCCCA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Rankings, which has women's head coach John Gartland very excited for the weekend.
“I am thrilled to have three members of our women's team representing Indiana State this weekend at the NCAA's,” said Gartland. “Kylie, Lauren and Erica have all had tremendous seasons and have worked very hard to get to this point. Each of them has strong chances to advance to the finals in their respective events, which could lead to them being named All-Americans which is their goal heading into the meet this weekend. All of them are very healthy and fit heading into the meet and I have no doubts each will rise to the occasion and perform well.”
Hutson, who will be making her fourth NCAA championship appearance in the pole vault (twice indoors, twice outdoors), heads into the meet with the fourth-best height in the country of 14'01.25”. After earning All-America honors in the pole vault at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship, the sophomore from Terre Haute, Ind., continued to dominate throughout the entire outdoor season, winning two MVC Athlete of the Week honors before shattering school and conference records in the pole vault with a mark of 14'01.25” to win a conference title at the MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Hutson then went on to vault 13'11.75” to win the NCAA Mideast Regional title in the event to become the first student-athlete in Indiana State school history to win an individual regional title.
Martin will be making her first career appearance at an NCAA championship this weekend. The sophomore from Arlington Heights, Ill., completed her sweep of the conference titles in the triple jump for the Sycamores when she came in first at the MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championship with a leap of 41'10”. That title then sent her to the NCAA Mideast Regional, where she recorded a fourth-place finish with a leap of 43'04.25”, which set a new outdoor school record in the event topping the old mark of 42'02.75” set by Yolanda Wright during the 2004 season.
Rounding out the trio is Moore, who will be making her second appearance at an NCAA championship after she previously qualified for the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship where she ran to a ninth-place finish in the 800 meter event. The sophomore from Sullivan, Ind., will be running in the 400 hurdles this weekend, an event in which she broke her own school record with a time of 57.03 in the prelims at the NCAA Mideast Regional before running to a third-place finish with a time of 57.33 in the finals to advance her to this weekend's championships. Moore's time of 57.03 currently ranks as the seventh-best time in the country heading into the meet.
On the men's side, the Sycamores will be well represented by Daniel in the triple jump. Men's head coach John McNichols believes that the school's record-holder in the event has a strong chance to show up in the finals on Saturday.
“Steve has been one of the best triple jumpers in school history and this will be a great way for him to wrap up a very successful career at Indiana State,” said McNichols. “He is an extremely competitive and talented student-athlete and he just needs to focus on making the finals. There are some very strong competitors at the top of the entry list, but from about eighth on down the rest of the field is separated by just inches. I believe Steve can compete with the best jumpers in the country and he will have a chance to shine if he stays focused and healthy through qualifying.”
Daniel, a senior from Decatur, Ill., will be running in the final track meet of his career this weekend for the Sycamores and in his first NCAA championship. The 2008 Missouri Valley Conference outdoor champion in the triple jump added to his memorable year when he leaped 52'03.75” to set a new school record in the event on way to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional.
Action will begin for the Sycamores on Wednesday, June 11, when Moore competes in the prelims of the 400 hurdles at approximately 6 p.m. CST followed by Hutson in the prelims of the pole vault competition at 7:30 p.m. Daniel and Martin will not compete until Friday, when both will compete in the prelims of the triple jump during the afternoon. Fans who like to watch the meet live will have a chance to do so, as CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) will be airing live coverage of the NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday, June 13th from 7-10 p.m. CST. CBS will also broadcast live coverage of the final day of competition from 3-5 p.m. CST on Saturday.
