KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
DES MOINES, IOWA ? Indiana State senior Erica Moore continued pursuit of her own record in the 400 meter hurdles Saturday, posting a time of 57.21 in winning the event at the Drake Relays. She had almost a two-second lead at the finish and was the only competitor under 58 seconds (Elahi Kianna of Iowa State and Joanna Schultz tied for second at 58.59).
“It was a great day for our big guns,” John Gartland, Indiana State women's track & field coach, said. “Erica is our first individual winner in a long time. She wasn't placed in the fast heat so she really had to earn the victory. She was really determined today and stole it from those in the faster heat who thought they had the win themselves.”
Moore has the seventh fastest time in the nation (fifth best in the East) at 57.20 which she set at the Indiana State Quadrangular last weekend. She holds the Sycamore record at 57.03.
Another highlight of the day was the return to pole vault competition of senior Kylie Hutson after a two-week absence due to a hamstring injury. The rust came off quickly for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Champion who battled two current members of the U.S. Olympic team and two other elite pole vaulters in the United States during the competition.
Jillian Schwartz and April Steiner, both current members of the U.S. Olympic team, are two of just five U.S. women to clear 15-feet outdoors in the pole vault. Schwarz, currently competing for Nike, and Steiner, currently competing for ASISC, were tied with Hutson after clearing 14'-2.5” (4.33m), a season best for Hutson.
The bar was then moved up to 14'-6.25” (4.43m) but none of the competitors could clear the height. Schwartz was awarded first place with fewer misses with Steiner second and Hutson third. Hutson moved to third on the national list and took over the top spot in the East with her jump.
Still another highlight for the Indiana State women came from junior Kelsey Hanley who finished fifth in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 188'-10” (57.56m). The distance is a personal best for the Sycamore junior and the third best in Indiana State history. Hanley ranks 31st in the nation and 16th in the East with her distance.
Lauren Martin was leading the women's triple jump until the final round when Andrea Geubelle of Kansas landed her best jump of the day to win the event. Martin was second at a season best 43'-5.75” (13.25m) with Geubelle winning at 43'-11.25” (13.39m). Martin moved up to fifth in the nation and fourth in the east with her jump.
The Sycamore women sprint medley relay team of Jaquelle Spencer, Violet Nwordu, Stacia Weatherford, and Leeann Michl finished 16th overall in 4:00.46. The time is the sixth best in school history.
“Lauren (Martin) led through five rounds of the triple jump but ended up second and our sprint medley relay was really competitive,” Gartland said. “Kylie (Hutson) came back after missing a couple of weeks because of hamstring problems and competed well against the pros.”
On the men's side, sophomore Major Clay finished third in the men's high jump after clearing 7'-2.25” (2.19m) on Saturday. This was the 15th straight competition that Clay has had a jump over seven feet.
“We are not looking very sharp as we get closer to the end of the season,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's track & field coach, said. “Major (Clay) had a great competition. There were four outstanding athletes jumping at the end which made the event great to watch.
“The shuttle hurdle relay team was a huge surprise this weekend,” McNichols said. “We ended up with the fifth fastest time overall and our fastest time of the year. I really didn't anticipate them to make the finals but they did and made a good showing.”
Indiana State's 4x110 shuttle hurdle relay team of Michael Roberts, Dexter Childress, Patrick Mendenhall, and DeJuan Mitchell advanced to the finals with a fourth place finish in the preliminaries in 60.39. The Sycamore team came back with an even faster time in the finals, finishing third in 59.75 which is the fourth best time in school history.
Two other Sycamores were in action at the Drake Relays Saturday with Jeremiah Vaughan placing 11th in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 3:54.59 and Ernest Rollins finished 10 th in the men's triple jump with a distance of 47'-3.5” (14.41m).
On Friday, the women's 4x400 meter relay team of Stacia Weatherford, Lauren Martin, Kaci Smith, and Erica Moore established and the school record for the second time this season, placing ninth in 3:41.54. Weatherford replaced Kacie Klem who reinjured her ankle during an earlier relay race.
Klem reinjured her ankle running the opening 1200 meter leg of the distance medley relay but never quit the race and was able to finish her leg to hand off the baton to Leeann Michl. Adriane Wunderlich and Allison Malone were also on the team that completed the race in 12:19.61 for a 19th place finish.
The Indiana State 4x100 meter relay team of Jaquelle Spencer, Weatherford, Martin, and Violet Nwordu finished 14th with a time of 46.95 while the 4x800 meter relay team of Michl, Smith, Wunderlich, and Malone finished 11th in 9:16.27. Sycamore Felisha Johnson had a personal best throw of 46'-11.75” (14.32m) in placing 11th in the women's shot put.
On Thursday, Indiana State junior Michael Disher ran his second fastest 3,000 meter steeplechase of his career, finishing fifth in 9:02.93. Sycamore freshman Dexter Childress competed in the first decathlon of his career, finishing in 17th with a total of 5,957 points. Two other Sycamores competed in the men's 5,000 meter run this evening with senior Eric Schulz placing 14th in 14:48.10, and freshman Albaro Escalera finishing 17th in 15:24.19.
