KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? The pre-season indoor track & field rankings were released Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association with the Indiana State women's team opening the season ranked 32nd in the nation and the Sycamore men's team ranked 62nd.
Oregon is the women's pre-season number one followed by Texas A&M, Louisiana State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Clemson, Auburn, West Virginia, Southern Illinois, and Oklahoma. Other Missouri Valley Conference teams in the pre-season rankings are Northern Iowa in 83rd, Wichita State 90th, Drake 122nd, and Illinois State 123rd. Among Division I universities in Indiana, the Hoosiers are just ahead of the Sycamores in 31st with Purdue 53rd, Notre Dame 100th, Ball State 110th, Butler 134th.
Florida is the men's pre-season number one followed by Louisiana State, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Texas Tech, Penn State, Stanford, and Indiana. Other Missouri Valley Conference teams in the pre-season rankings are Southern Illinois in 48th, Wichita State 76th, Northern Iowa 80th, and Illinois State 119th. Among Division I universities in Indiana, the 10th ranked Hoosiers are followed by Purdue in 46th, Indiana State 62nd, Notre Dame 86th, and Butler 106th.
Indiana State sophomore Felisha Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) continues to lead the nation in the women's 20 pound weight throw after she automatically qualified for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships with a school record throw of 73'-2.5” (22.31 meters) in winning the EIU Early Bird Invitational Dec. 10.
Johnson also ranks eighth in the nation in the women's shot put with the third best heave in school history of 49'-7.25” (15.12 meters) at the EIU Early Bird Invitational. Indiana State Hall of Famer Christy Barrett holds the school record with a throw of 55'-1.5” (16.80 meters) accomplished in 1991.
Several other Sycamores are ranked among the top 10 in the nation including sophomore Leeann Michl (Newton, Ill.) who is ranked ninth in the 800 meters after finishing second at the EIU Early Bird with a converted time of 2:15.19 (actual time 2:16.19). Senior Kelsey Hanley (Arcadia, Ind.) is ranked fifth in the women's weight throw after finishing second to Johnson with a throw of 64'-8.75” (19.73 meters) at the EIU Early Bird.
The Indiana State 4,000 meter distance medley relay team of freshman Ashley Name (South Bend, Ind.), sophomore Macey Black (Pleasant Hill, Ill.), freshman Alexa McFadden (Terre Haute, Ind.), and junior Kristy Twitchell (Terre Haute, Ind.) currently ranks seventh in the nation with a converted time of 13:01.44 (actual time (13:06.34).
On the men's side, junior Craig Padgett (Mishawaka, Ind.) ranks second in the mile with a converted time of 4:16.45. Padgett won the mile at the EIU Early Bird with an actual time of 4:18.25. Freshman Greggmar Swift (Bridgetown, Barbados) ranks fifth in the 60 meter hurdles with a winning time of 7.91 at the EIU Early Bird.
Junior Ernest Rollins (St. Michael, Barbados) is eighth nationally in the triple jump with a leap of 48'-3.5” (14.72 meters) which won the event at the EIU Early Bird. Junior Brandon Pounds (Indianapolis, Ind.) is seventh nationally in the 30-pound weight throw with a toss of 62'-4.5” (19.01 meters) which won the event at the EIU Early Bird.
The Indiana State 4,000 meter distance medley relay team of sophomore Dustin Betz (Schnellville, Ind.), junior Andrew Stull (Carmel, Ind.), sophomore Kyle Smiley (New Carlisle, Ind.), and junior Jeremiah Vaughan (Brookville, Ind.) is ranked fourth nationally with a converted time of 10:18.92. The Sycamores won the event at the EIU Early Bird with a time of 10:19.92.
Times are converted by the Track & Field Result Reporting Service (TFRRS) to standardize the times due to the various sizes of indoor tracks that teams compete on during the season. Automatic qualifying standards are established by the NCAA. There are no provisional qualifying standards for the 2011 season with entries to the NCAA Indoor Championships based on automatic qualifiers plus the top non-qualifiers according to the TFRRS rankings.
Indiana State is off until January 15, 2011, when they will take on Illinois State in the Terre Haute Double Dual which will be held at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
