KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
KNOXVILLE, TENN. ? Indiana State senior Lauren Martin has been looking for a big jump throughout the early part of the outdoor season and she landed one Friday at the Sea Ray Relays, winning the women's triple jump competition with a leap of 42'-10.75” (13.07 meters).
“I seem to perform better when the weather is warm and today the weather was great” Martin said. “The track was great and each attempt was great. I finally got the jump I have been looking for all season on my last attempt. The win has really made me excited about the rest of the season and I cannot wait for the next competition.”
The leap is currently the third best in the nation and second best in the East Region.
Several other Sycamores did well during Friday's field event competition. Indiana State's Brandon Pounds took second in the men's shot put (57'-10.5”) and third in the men's discus (161'-2”) while Felisha Johnson was third in the women's discus (147'-2”).
Pound's mark of 57'-10.5” (17.61 meters) in the shot put is his best of the season and is currently the 12th best in the east. His mark of 161'-2” (49.12 meters) in the discus is a personal best for the sophomore and is currently the 45th best in the East.
Johnson set a personal best in the women's discus with a throw of 147'-2” (44.85 meters) which is the 11th best in Indiana State history. Johnson was also 22nd in the hammer throw, which was contested Thursday night, with a toss of 155'-4” (47.36 meters). Kelsey Hanley was 11th in the hammer at 167'-5” (51.03 meters).
“Earlier today we were just kind of regular, really didn't get going,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's track and field coach, said. “But tonight, with really good weather, the distances races were great. We've accomplished a lot of the thing we came down here to do and tomorrow will be a fun day with a lot of relays.”
The Sycamore men placed three in the top 10 of the 10,000 meter run, the final event of Friday's card, with Eric Schulz finishing third in 30:22.19, Craig Padgett sixth in 30:39.56, and Scott Keeney seventh in 30:40.04. All set personal best times in the competition with Schulz moving to fourth on the ISU all-time list, Padgett sixth and Keeney seventh.
Michael Disher ran the fourth fastest time in school history in placing fourth in the 5,000 meters in 14:27.70 while Dustin Betz had a personal best time of 3:58.19 in finishing fifth in the unseeded 1,500 meters. Konstantinos Tzirtziris finished ninth in the 800 unseeded with a time of 1:55.44.
On the women's side, Allison Malone ran a personal best of 4:40.13 in finishing second in the unseeded 1,500 meters. The time moves her to 15th on the ISU all-time list for the event. Sycamore teammate Kacie Klem was right behind in fourth with a time of 4:42.16.
Erica Moore ran her first 400 meter hurdle event of the season and finished fourth with a time of 58.66 with Leeann Michl fifth in the unseeded 800 meters with a time of 2:19.37
“Moore ran very well in her opening 400 meter hurdles of the outdoor season,” John Gartland, Indiana State women's track & field coach, said. “Allison (Malone) and Felisha (Johnson) did an outstanding job in their events. The way to assess today is that we had many good performances but very few personal bests.”
Competition resumes at 8:45 a.m. (ET) on Saturday with action in the men's hammer throw. The final event, the 4x400 meter relay, is scheduled to start at 5:45 p.m. (ET).
