TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? Both the Indiana State men's track & field team and the women's track & field team finished third as the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship came to a close today at Marks Field on the campus of Indiana State University.
Pre-championship favorite Northern Iowa won their third straight outdoor championship with 207 points while Southern Illinois edged out Indiana State for second, the Salukis totaling 179 points and the Sycamores 173. Wichita State was fourth with 125 points with Illinois State fifth with 88 points and Drake sixth with 41 points.
On the women's side, pre-championship favorite Wichita State was upset by Southern Illinois for the team championship, the Salukis posting 181.5 points to the Shockers' 171.5. Indiana State was third with 128 points. Missouri State finished fourth with 116 points, Illinois State fifth with 104, Northern Iowa sixth with 71.5, Drake seventh with 35.5, and Bradley eighth with 10 points.
Indiana State's Kylie Hutson, the three-time champion in the outdoor pole vault, was name the most outstanding women's field athlete in a vote of the conference coaches. The Sycamores also had three more women earn MVC championships as Jeanne' Middleton won the 100 meters, Erica Moore the 400 meters and Lauren Martin the triple jump.
The men's 4x100 meter relay team also earned a conference championship.
Middleton ran to a conference championship in the 100 meters with a winning time of 11.54 which is also a regional qualifying mark. Jaquelle Spencer was eighth in 12.26. Middleton was edged out in the 200 meters, however, finishing just behind Wichita State's Audacia Moore but still receiving all-conference recognition with a second place finish in 24.16. Mary Kate Conway was seventh in 24.82.
Moore won her second conference championship of the weekend as she ran away with the 400 meter hurdles, winning in a regional qualifying time of 49.86. Amanda Jones was sixth in 1:03.07. Sarah Snapp placed eighth in the 100 meter hurdles with a personal best time of 14.52 which is also the 11th the best time in school history.
Heather Stembridge made a big move on the final lap of the 1500 meters to come away with an all-conference performance and a second place finish with a time of 4:31.37. Mary Kate Conway was fourth in the 400 meter finals with a time of 56.68 and Adriane Wunderlich was sixth in the 800 meters in 2:17.85. Kayla Alexander was the top ISU finisher in the 5000 meters, placing 11th in 17:54.19.
Martin leaped her way to her second straight conference championship in the triple jump, winning the event with a leap of 41'10”. Kelsey Hanley was third in the discus completion with a toss of 160'02”, a personal bewst for the Sycamore and the fourth best in school history. Hanley was also fourth in the hammer throw with a toss of 173'9”.
The Sycamore 4x100 meter relay team of Spencer, Middleton, Martin and Conway raced their way to a second place finish and all-conference recognition with a time of 45.69. The time was a regional qualifying effort and the fourth best in Indiana State history. The 4x400 meter relay team of Martin, Conway, Posey and Moore was also second with a time of 3:44.70, just missing a regional qualifying mark.
The Indiana State men's team added another conference champion to their 2009 list as the 4x100 meter relay team of Daryl Truitt, Gary Ogburn, Sean Wright and Antinoice Surry outran Northern Iowa to win by just over two-tenths of a second. The time of 40.65 was the third best time in school history, a regional qualifying mark and earned the four Sycamores All-Conference honors.
The 4x400 meter relay team of Ogburn, Surry, Colton Slack and Wright was edged out in a battle for second by Southern Illinois, finishing third with a time of 3:11.85.
Michael Roberts also earned All-Conference honors with a second place finish in the 110 meter hurdles, running to a personal best time of 14.52. Anthony Bertoli also had a personal best time of 15.03 in placing seventh.
Truitt earned all-conference status after placing second in the 100 meters as he was edged out by Northern Iowa's Jarred Herring at the wire, Truitt timing in at 10.68 and Herring taking first with a time of 10.63. Gary Ogburn was fourth in a very close finish among the eighth finalist with a time of 10.76. In the 200 meters, Ogburn again finished fourth with a time of 21.37 while Truitt finished in seventh with a time of 21.97.
Wright was second in the 400 meters with a time of 47.87 to earn All-Conference honors. Jeremiah Vaughan also earned all-conference recognition after finishing second in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:54.76. ISU's Scott Koressel finished fifth (3:57.37) while Bryan Alexander was seventh (3:57.98) and Kyle Walsh eighth (3:58.50).
Eric Schulz held on in the final 100 meters to finish third in the 5000 meters with a time of 14:43.28 while Michael Disher placed eighth in 14:52.75. Konstantinos Tzirtziris finishing fifth in the 800 meter finals with a time of 1:53.94 while in the 400 meter hurdle finals, James Twitchell was seventh in 54.21 and Anthony Bertoli was eighth in 54.78.
Ernest Rollins had a personal best in the triple jump with a leap of 48'7.50” to finish fourth in the event while David Bell also had a personal best of 46'11.5” in finishing in ninth. In the men's pole vault, the Sycamores Jeremy Pratt earned a point with an eighth place finish in a vault of 15'3”. George Weed placed sixth in the discus with throw of 156'6”.
