KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? The Indiana State Sycamores are a young and talented team with many of the squad members getting their first taste of championship action as they compete in the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The University of Northern Iowa is the host school for the championships.
“This will be the first conference championship for half of our team,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's track & field coach, said. “And we are running a pretty conservative lineup due to athletes recovering from injuries and illness but we are dealing with that as best we can.”
McNichols still believes that the men can compete for the Indoor title this year after finishing a disappointing fourth a year ago. Indiana State has never won the indoor team title but has finished second 12 times and third 12 times in the 34 years that the Sycamores have been in the Missouri Valley Conference. ISU has had 68 individual champions, however.
“This is a very young, very enthusiastic team that loves track,” McNichols said. “The freshmen have been leading us in points in most of our meets this season but that does not away from the contributions of our veterans.”
This is the fourth straight year that the championships will be held at the University of Northern Iowa. The Panthers won 10 straight titles from 2000-2009 with Wichita State snapping that streak last year.
“They have a huge advantage in competing at home but that is something that can only be corrected by the development of better facilities throughout the conference,” McNichols said.
The recovery of freshman Greggmar Swift is a bright spot for McNichols heading into the championship.
“He was not at full strength last Friday at Eastern Illinois but competed very well,” McNichols said. “He is getting stronger and better each day.”
McNichols will also look to veterans like Jeremiah Vaughan, Craig Padgett, Michael Disher, Andrew Stull, Michael Roberts, Daryl Truitt, Ernest Rollins and Major Clay to inspire the younger team members during the championships.
Clay will be looking for his second straight indoor conference title in the high jump while Vaughan is the defending 3,000 meter champion but will not compete in that event this year. He was second in the mile and will be one of the favorites to win this year. Truitt was the 60 meter champion a year ago with Rollins second in the triple jump, and Roberts third in the 60 meter hurdles.
The Sycamore women's team is also young and talented but that may not be enough to overcome the loss of three All-Conference and All-American performers from a year ago (Kylie Hutson, Erica Moore, and Lauren Martin).
“We are young but we are also exciting,” Angie Martin, Indiana State women's track & field coach, said. “We definitely have the talent but have little experience in meets of this caliber. They all plan to compete hard this weekend and if they do, we may surprise some people. Our kids just have to believe.”
Wichita State is the defending champion and the Shockers will be looking to record their fourth indoor team title this year. Indiana State also has four indoor titles, winning three straight (1993, 1994, 1995) and also winning the title in 2001. The Sycamores finished third a year ago which they have done eight times in the 28 years of Valley championships.
“It is all of matter of how the girls perform during the weekend,” Martin said. “Wichita State has a very strong, balanced team and will be hard to beat so the battle may shape up for second through fifth. I believe, and I think the girls believe, that we can score enough to finish in the top three.”
Stacia Weatherford and Leeann Michl are the only returning champions from a year ago as they were members of the winning 4x400 meter relay team that also included Moore and Martin. Kelsey Hanley also earned All-Conference recognition with a second place finish in the weight throw.
“The weight throw and shot put may be a preview of the NCAA Championships since several of the top individuals in the nation will be in competition this weekend,” Martin said. “We also have several others that are on the verge of making it high enough on the descending order list to receive an invitation to the Nationals.”
Competition begins at 10:30 a.m. (ET) Saturday in the UNI Dome with the running of the women's Pentathlon 60 meter hurdles. The men's Heptathlon will start with the 60 meter dash at 11:00 a.m. (ET). Regular events begin at 2:15 p.m. with the women's weight throw. Sunday's schedule begins at 10:30 a.m. (ET) with the men's Heptathlon 60 meter hurdles. The final event, the men's 4x400 meter relay, is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. (ET).
SYCAMORE MEN PICKED FIRST, WOMEN FOURTH BY COACHES
The Indiana State men's track & field team was picked as the pre-championship favorite by the slimmest of margins in a poll of MVC coaches released today by the Valley office. The poll is conducted prior to the start of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships which will be held this weekend at the University of Northern Iowa.
The Sycamores received three first place votes and 32 points to hold a slim advantage over defending champion Wichita State. The Shockers received two first place votes and 27 points. Southern Illinois came in third with 24 points while the host UNI Panthers had the other first place vote and 22 points to finish fourth in the pre-championship poll. Illinois State was fifth with 13 points while Drake was sixth with eight points.
On the women's side, defending champion Wichita State was picked to win again with seven first place votes and 63 points. Southern Illinois had one first place vote and recorded 57 points to be picked second with Illinois State third (45 points), Indiana State fourth (40), Northern Iowa fifth (27), Missouri State sixth (26), Drake seventh (21), and Bradley ninth (nine points).
