KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Ernest Rollins and Felisha Johnson were event winners for the Indiana State Sycamores as the 2012 Eastern Illinois University Big Blue Classic came to a close today in O'Brien Stadium.
Rollins won the men's triple jump with a leap of 48-feet-8¾-inches (14.85 meters) while Johnson captured the women's shot put with a distance of 55-feet-1½-inches (16.80 meters).
"We had a lot of good early season performances at this meet," John McNichols, Indiana State men's track & field coach, said. "We will take what we have learned here and begin to apply it to our preparation for next weekend."
Johnson's winning toss in the shot put is the second best distance in school history, second only to Christy Barrett who holds the school record with a toss of 56-feet-10¾-inches (17.34 meters) in 1991. It also broke the Big Blue Classic record of Illinois State's Brittany Smith who had a distance of 50-feet-9½-inches (15.48 meters) in 2010.
"We had a decent meet today," Angela Martin, Indiana State women's track & field coach, said. "The weather was great and the competition was good which may have helped us to post some good marks today. Hopefully we can continue to make strides towards next week and towards the conference championship."
Johnson also finished third overall and the second collegian in the discus with a distance of 161-feet-9-inches (49.31 meters) which is the sixth best in school history. Mary Theisen was fifth overall and the third collegian in the discus with a distance of 155-feet-1-inch (47.26 meters) and also finished third in the shot put at 49-feet-11-inches (15.21 meters).
In the other field events for the ISU women, Carmelia Stewart was fourth in the triple jump at 37-feet-5¼-inches (11.41 meters), Hannah McKnight cleared a personal best 11-feet-0¾-inches (3.37 meters) for eighth in the pole vault, and Nikki Snearley and Rachael Johnson tied for second overall but shared top collegian honors in the high jump by clearing 5-feet-4¼-inches (1.63 meters). It was a personal best for Snearley.
Leeann Michl ran a personal best 55.65 to capture sixth place in the women's 400 meters which is the eighth best time for the event in school history. Shelby Higginbottom also had a personal best in the 800 meters at 2:16.23 to finish 13th overall, Kristy Twitchell established a personal best for the 1500 meters at 4:38.59 in finishing 13th overall, and Stacia Weatherford ran to a sixth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.12 in the finals.
All three ISU competitors in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase finished in the top 10 and each established personal bests for the event. Hanna Mercer led the effort with a third place finish in 11:19.06 while Andrea Prusz was fourth in 11:28.16 and Emily Mercer finished eighth in 12:39.85.
The Sycamores had a good finish to the meet as the women's 4x400 meter relay of Weatherford, Macey Black, Kaci Smith, and Michl placed second in 3:45.34. The Indiana State 4x100 meter team of Jaquelle Spencer, Black, Taylor Gilles, and Ja'liza Prophet was fourth in 48.05.
Indiana State had good finishes in each of the contested men's field events. Rollins added to his first place finish in the triple jump with a seventh place finish in the long jump by leaping a personal best distance of 22-feet-3-inches (6.78 meters).
Jordan Colanese took fourth in the javelin throw at 160-feet-10-inches (49.03 meters), Chris Fields third in the discus at 160-feet-3-inches (48.85 meters) and sixth in the shot put at 49-feet-9¼-inches (15.17 meters), and Brandon Pounds fourth in the discus at 158-feet-9-inches (48.40 meters). Maurice Lyke took eighth in the long jump with a personal best distance of 22-feet-3-inches (6.78 meters), Tucker Field seventh in the pole vault by clearing 15-feet-1-inch (4.60 meters), and Jamal Hampton sixth in the high jump by clearing 6-feet-4-inches (1.93 meters).
On the track, Indiana State took the top three collegiate spots in the 1500 meter run led by Dustin Betz (third overall) in 3:56.78 and followed by Craig Padgett in 3:57.58 (fourth overall), and Albaro Escalera in 3:58.55 (fifth overall). Gabe Ocasio competed in his first 3,000 meter steeplechase and came within four-hundredths of a second of winning the event as he finished second in 9:30.20.
Duane Brown finished fourth in the 110 meter hurdles in a personal best 14.62 with Lyke eighth in 14.98. Brad Adams, coming off a red-shirt indoor season, ran a personal best 1:52.04 to take fourth in the 800 meters while Kevin Piraino ran 48.10 to place fourth in the 400 meters. Devin Price ran a personal best 22.42 to lead ISU in the 200 meters with a 10th place finish while he was also the best Sycamore in the 100 meters with a 12th place finish in 11.02.
Max Tuttle, Piraino, Arqeil Shaw, and Ray Skamay combined to finish fourth in the men's 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:15.80 while the team of Ryan Henrickson, Ryan Dickson, Andrew Stull, and Justin Baxtron was fifth in 3:19.81. Earlier Saturday, Price, Piraino, Leo Cordova, and Israel Mercado combined for a fifth place finish in the 4x100 meter relay in 41.42.
Indiana State will be competing in the Auburn Tiger Classic next weekend in Auburn, Ala.
