KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. - The training, the preparation and the competition over the past two months culminate this weekend with the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. That means just one thing for the Indiana State Sycamores, it is time to step it up and bring home the championships.
The Sycamore men are the defending 2011 MVC Indoor champions while the women seek their first title since the 2001 season. But it will take a total team effort for Indiana State to secure those titles this year.
"We have the balance and the talent to achieve our goal of winning the championship," John McNichols, Indiana State men's track & field coach, said. "But it will not be easy. I see the battle coming down to two teams, Indiana State and Southern Illinois, two very good teams. But there are several others that could jump in and compete as well."
The 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships will be contested at the University of Northern Iowa on Saturday and Sunday. The multi-events will open the competition starting with the women's Pentathlon at 10:30 a.m. (ET) and the men's heptathlon at 11 a.m. (ET). Patricia Merrion, Kelly Steffen and Tori Stone will compete in the pentathlon, a five-event, one-day competition, while Steven Swinford and Robert Webb will compete in the heptathlon, a seven-event, two-day competition.
Field events begin at 2:15 p.m. (ET) with the women's weight throw while the preliminaries in the women's 60 meter dash open the track events at 4 p.m. (ET). Sunday's events will begin at 10:30 a.m. (ET) with the championships scheduled to conclude at approximately 4:45 p.m. (ET).
The Sycamore men, ranked 27th in the nation, were picked to defend their conference championship on a vote of league coaches while the women, ranked 39th nationally, were picked to finish fifth.
Indiana State secured their first ever men's Indoor championship in 2011 by winning the final event of the competition, the 4x400 relay, to defeat Southern Illinois by a mere 4½ points. That was the closest finish since 1991 when Southern Illinois edged Illinois State by 4½ points (123.0-118.5). Indiana State was third that year with 96 points. The margin is also the second smallest in Missouri Valley Conference history with the closest coming in 1975, two years before ISU joined the Valley, when Drake and North Texas State fought to a 77-77 tie.
"In trying to evaluate what might happen this year by looking at the performance list, the meet should come down to a battle between us and SIU," McNichols said. "But the form chart is not always accurate although it comes pretty close."
The Sycamore women finished fourth a year ago under first year head coach Angela Martin who expects a better performance from this year's team.
"I am really excited about this year because we have more depth than a year ago," Martin said. "Southern Illinois and Wichita State are probably the top two teams but I think we have the ability to compete with them and compete for the title."
The men will be led by nine returning all-conference performers and two athletes who have already qualified for the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Brandon Pounds qualified for the NCAA Indoors last week at Eastern Illinois when he broke the ISU record in the weight throw with a toss of 70-feet-8½ -inches. The junior returns to the MVC Championships after missing 2011 with a wrist injury. Pounds won both the indoor titles in shot put and weight throw as a freshman while placing fourth in the weight and fifth in the shot as a sophomore. He heads into this year's competition with the second best weight throw in the conference this season and the 10th best distance in the shot put.
Major Clay is the other ISU men's athlete to already have a spot at the 2012 NCAA Indoors and broke the ISU record in the high jump at Eastern Illinois last Friday by clearing 7-feet-5-inches. The senior is the two-time defending indoor conference champion in the event after finishing third as a freshman. Clay is the only MVC athlete to clear the seven-foot barrier this season to lead the league while ranked third on the national performance list.
Ernest Rollins also returns to defend his 2011 championship in the men's triple jump. He was second as a sophomore and third as a freshman at the Indoor Championships. The senior became just the sixth Sycamore to soar past the 50-foot mark this season and has a season best effort of 51-feet-1¾-inches which leads the conference and ranks 21st on the national performance list.
Greggmar Swift finished seventh in the men's 60 meter hurdles a year ago but has dominated the event in the conference this season with a personal best time of 7.77 seconds set at Purdue earlier this season. That is the best time in the conference this season and ranks 12th on the national performance list putting him on the bubble for an invitation to the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. The automatic qualifying time is 7.70 seconds.
Other returning all-conference performers include Dustin Betz (third in 3,000 meters), Albaro Escalera (third in 5,000 meters), Drew LaMaster (third in pole vault), Max Tuttle (first in 4x400 relay), and Jeremiah Vaughan (won the 3,000 meters and finished second in the mile at the 2010 championships).
Vaughan currently tops the Valley performance list in the 3,000 meters and is second in the mile while Escalera leads the 5,000 meters with teammates Craig Padgett second and Tristan Selby third. Justin Braxton is third in the 60 meters and second in the 200 meters, Jonathon Christensen third in the high jump, Steven Swinford third in the pole vault, and Maurice Lyke leads in the long jump.
The women's team will be led by seven returning all-conference performers including one that has already qualified for the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Felisha Johnson holds the Indiana State record in the women's weight throw with a distance of 74-feet-5¾-inches accomplished in winning the 2011 national championship in the event and automatically qualified to defend that title with a throw of 71-feet-1¼-inches earlier this season. The junior also ranks second on ISU's all-time list in the shot put with a heave of 54-feet-7¼-inches accomplished earlier this season.
Johnson finished second in the weight throw at the 2011 MVC Indoor Championships after a fourth place finish as a freshman. She also placed fourth in the shot put a year ago after finishing 10th as a freshman. She ranks second on the Valley performance list and second on the national list in the weight throw while she also ranks third on the Valley list and 11th on the national list in the shot put.
Nicole Hope and Richelle Kimble tied for second in the women's pole vault a year ago and they are the top two athletes on the Valley performance list this season. Hope, a senior, cleared a personal best 13-feet-3½-inch to lead the conference while Kimble, a junior, cleared a personal best 13-feet-3½-inch to be ranked second. Both are also in the top 30 of the national performance list with Hope ranked 23rd and Kimble 29th.
Leeann Michl placed third in the 800 meters at the 2011 MVC Indoor Championships and ran a personal best 2:09.74 this season which is the second fastest time on the conference performance list this season. The junior's time is also the 75th best on the national performance list. She also ranks seventh in the 400 meters on the Valley performance list.
Michl was also a member of the third place 4x400 meter relay team with Shelby Higginbottom and Stacia Weatherford also returning to compete this year off that team. Weatherford ranks third on the Valley performance list in the 60 meter hurdles and fifth in the 400 meters with Higginbottom eighth in the 400 meters and eighth in the long jump.
Jaquelle Spencer ranks third on the Valley list in the long jump and eighth in the 60 meter dash with Shalesa Smith second in the triple jump and Mary Theisen fourth in the shot put and 12th in the weight throw. Carmelia Stewart ranks sixth in the 60 meter hurdles with Jessica Zangmeister seventh in the 5,000 meters.
