Sycamore Track Team To Battle For Gene Edmonds Cup At Purdue Saturday

Track & Field March 01, 2009 ISU Athletics

Seven Champions For Sycamores On Final Day Of MVC Indoor Championships

KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA ? The Indiana State Sycamores earned seven conference championships as the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships came to a close today in the UNI Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa.

The Indiana State men's team finished second in the team race with 128.5 points. Northern Iowa won the team title with 179 points with Southern Illinois third with 116.5 and Wichita State fourth with 105.

“We just had to piece it together,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's track and field coach, said. “It wasn't how I thought it would go and it wasn't pretty but we got the job done, scoring in every event except the long jump and 800 meters. Southern Illinois and Wichita State were coming after us all day long but we had enough to hold them off.

“It worked out for us today and we will take the runner-up position this time and look for something better later on,” McNichols said. “It was a good day for the Sycamores and always in contention.

The Indiana State women's team dug themselves into a hole on Friday but fought back to finish fourth in the team race with 88.5 points. Southern Illinois captured the team title with 154 points while Wichita State was second with 143 and Missouri State third with 111 points.

“We really buried ourselves yesterday,” John Gartland, Indiana State women's track and field coach, said. “Coming into day we had only 13 points which meant we had to have a heck of a day to pull ourselves out of the bottom half and that is just what we did. We really got on a roll and had good things happen today.”

The Sycamore women picked up five conference championships Saturday. Junior Kylie Hutson captured her third straight MVC Indoor title in the pole vault, going 14-feet-0 (4.27 meters) which is a new school record and upped her NCAA automatic qualifying mark by two centimeters.

Junior Erica Moore won her second straight championship in the 800 meters, winning by four seconds in finishing with a time of 2:10.03. Moore also finished sixth in the 60 meter hurdles (8.95).

Junior Lauren Martin won her second straight championship in the triple jump with a school record leap of 43-feet-1 (13.13 meters) which is an NCAA Indoor provisional mark.

Senior Jeanne' Middleton won the 60 meter dash with a time of 7:51, her best of the season and the fourth best in school history. She also placed fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 25.20.

Moore, Martin, Mary Kate Conway and Kaci Smith teamed up to provide the Sycamores with their fifth championship of the day, taking the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:46.50. For Moore, Martin and Conway it was their second straight win in the 4x400 at the Indoor meet, winning the 2008 title with Samantha McClendon.

For the Sycamore men, freshman Brandon Pounds won his second MVC championship of the weekend, winning the shot put with a heave of 58-feet-6.75 (17.85 meters), which is an NCAA provisional mark. Pounds won the weight throw on Friday.

Sycamore senior Jeramie Gray captured his third straight championship in the 60 meter dash, winning the 2009 title with a time of 6.77 which is just four-hundredths of a second off the NCAA provisional mark.

Michael Roberts took second in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.15 with Anthony Bertoli sixth in 8.60. Daryl Truitt was third in the 60 meters (6.88) and fourth in the 200 meters (22.27) with Gary Ogburn fifth in the 200 meters (22.32), Sean Wright fourth in the 400 meters (48.73), Kyle Walsh seventh in the mile (4:18.27), Scott Keeney fourth in the 3000 meters (8:32.90) and Major Clay third in the high jump (6-feet-10.75).

Bertoli opened the final day of competition in the heptathlon in eighth place but quickly moved up the standings, winning the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.46 and finishing second in the pole vault with a vault of 16-feet-0.75 (4.90 meters). Bertoli would wind up in fourth place with 5,025 points after a fifth place finish in the 1000 meters with a time of 2:56.41.

Ogburn, Colton Slack, Antinoice Surry and Wright combined to take third place in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:16.51.

Also for the Indiana State women, Heather Stembridge came in seventh in the 3000 meters (10:05.97), Kacie Klem was eighth in the mile (5:04.39), Adriane Wunderlich eighth in the 800 meters (2:20.32) and Conway fourth in the 400 meters (57.47).

The indoor season for most of the Sycamore track and field team will come to a conclusion next weekend when Indiana State participates in the Alex Wilson Last Chance meet at the University of Notre Dame.

2009 MVC Indoor Men's Conference Champions

Brandon Pounds ? Weight Throw and Shot Put

Jeramie Gray ? 60 meter dash

2009 MVC Indoor Women's Conference Champions

Kylie Hutson ? Pole Vault

Erica Moore ? 800 meters, 4x400 meter relay

Lauren Martin ? Triple Jump, 4x400 meter relay

Jeanne' Middleton ? 60 Meter Dash

Kaci Smith ? 4x400 meter relay

Mary Kate Conway ? 4x400 meter relay

2009 MVC Indoor Men's All-Conference

Brandon Pounds ? Weight Throw and Shot Put