KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, IND.  – Thirty-three members of the Indiana State track and field team will be in competition this weekend at the 103rd Drake Relays including 19 men and 14 women. The competition began Wednesday with the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon while the Sycamores will be competing in their respective events on Friday and Saturday.

Devin Price, Kevin Piraino, Justin Baxtron, and Andrew Stull will open Indiana State's action at the Drake Relays as the compete in the 4x100 relay preliminaries at 10:17 a.m. (ET) Friday. Richelle Kimble will compete in the women's pole vault at 11:00 a.m. (ET) with Felisha Johnson and Mary Theisen going in the women's shot put at 12:30 p.m. (ET), Greggmar Swift in the men's 110 meter hurdle preliminaries at 12:35 P.M. (ET), Maurice Lyke in the men's long jump at 2:30 p.m. (ET), Theisen in the women's discus and Tara Perigo in the women's javelin at 3 p.m. (ET), and Leeann Michl in the women's seeded 800 meter run at 3:34 p.m. (ET).

Friday's action will conclude with the preliminaries of the 4x400 meter relay and the 4x200 meter relay. Stacia Weatherford, Macey Black, Shelby Higginbottom, and Michl will compete in the women's 4x400 meter relay preliminaries at 4:40 p.m. (ET) with Kaci Smith as the alternate. Max Tuttle, Ray Skamay, Piraino, and Arqeil Shaw will form the men's 4x400 meter relay team that runs at 5:10 P.M. (ET). Price, Piraino, Baxtron and Stull will be back to run in the men's 4x200 meter relay at 7:42 p.m. (ET) with Duane Brown the alternate.

Saturday's action begins early with the shuttle hurdle relay preliminaries. Weatherford, Carmelia Stewart, Kelly Steffen, and Sarah Snapp will form the Sycamore women's shuttle hurdle relay team that runs at 9:22 a.m. (ET) while Swift, Lyke, Brown and Robert Webb forming the men's team with a 9:40 a.m. (ET) start. Tuttle is the alternate for the men's team. Johnson competes in the women's hammer throw at 10 a.m. (ET) with Brandon Pounds going in the men's discus at 10:30 a.m. (ET).

Other individuals competing on Saturday include Kalli Dalton in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase at 12:10 p.m. (ET), Dustin Betz in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase at 12:25 p.m. (ET), Ernest Rollins in the men's triple jump at 1:30 p.m. (ET), Pounds in the men's hammer throw at 1:30 p.m. (ET), and Jeremiah Vaughan in the men's 1500 meter run at 6:10 p.m.

Three other Indiana State relays will compete at the Drake Relays on Saturday. Jaquelle Spencer, Black, Smith and Michl will form the women's sprint medley team that competes at 11:15 a.m. (ET) while the men's team will be formed around Piraino and Adams and run at 11:35 a.m. (ET). The Sycamores will also have a men's distance medley relay team formed around Drew Gambill, Corey Hahn, and Gabe Ocasio with the fourth member to be named before the 2:02 p.m. (ET) start.

The Sycamores are just two weeks out from the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships which will be contested at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan., May 11-13. Indiana State will have their final tune-up before the conference championships at the Billy Hayes Invitational on Friday, May 4, at Indiana University.

Sycamore Athletes On The National Performance List

Several Sycamores are ranked among the best athletes on the national performance list for the 2012 Outdoor season including eight women and eight men. The top 48 individuals in each event of the NCAA East performance list will receive an invitation to compete in the NCAAA East Preliminary Rounds at Jacksonville, Fla., May 26-28 with the top 24 relay teams in the NCAA East also receiving an invitation to compete.

Indiana State junior Felisha Johnson is ranked among the nation's best in three events after the first five weeks of the Outdoor season.  Johnson is 14th nationally in the shot put with her winning throw of 55-feet-1½-inches at the EIU Big Blue Classic. The mark is also the seventh best in the NCAA East, the top distance in the Great Lakes Region, and the third best in the Valley.

Johnson also ranks 31st nationally in the hammer throw after throwing a season best distance of 195-feet-4-inches at the Pacesetter Quadrangular. The mark also ranks 13th in the NCAA East, third in the Great Lakes, and third in the Valley. The junior posted a personal best distance of 161-feet-9-inches in the discus at the Big Blue Classic which ranks 66th in the nation, 26th in the NCAA East, and eighth in the Valley.

Indiana State junior Mary Theisen ranks 33rd in the nation for the discus throw after posting a distance of 170-freet-7-inches at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic. That is the 13th best in the NCAA East, seventh in the Great Lakes, and third best in the Valley. Theisen also ranks 44th nationally in the shot put with a distance of 50-feet-11-inches she posted at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic. That ranks 21st in the NCAA East and fourth in the Valley.

Junior Leeann Michl came with a second of setting the school record in the 800 meters at the Auburn Tiger Classic with a winning time of 2:06.67. The effort is the 38th fastest in the nation this season, 21st in the NCAA East, second in the Great Lakes Region, and is the fastest time in the Valley.

Junior Stacia Weatherford ran a personal best and the second best time in school history of 59.41 seconds in winning the 400 meter hurdles at the Big Blue Classic. That ranks her 39th in the nation, 17th in the NCAA East, third in the Great Lakes Region, and third in the Valley.

Junior Richelle Kimble cleared a personal best height of 13-feet-1½-inches at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic which moved her to 43rd nationally, 20th in the NCAA East, seventh in the Great Lakes Region, and on top of the leaderboard for the Missouri Valley Conference this season.

Sophomore Kelly Steffen scored a personal best 4,772 points in the Heptathlon at the Big Blue Classic which ranks fourth in the Valley, 33rd in the NCAA East, and 84th nationally.

Weatherford, junior Macey Black, senior Kaci Smith, and Michl currently have the fastest time in the Missouri Valley Conference this season in the women's 4x400 meter relay at 3:40.17 which they ran at the Polytan Invitational at Indiana University. That ranks 29th in the NCAA East and 71st in the nation.

Junior Brandon Pounds threw a personal best distance of 214-feet-4-inches in the hammer throw at the Auburn Tiger Classic to establish a new school record. The distance ranks as the ninth best in the nation, fifth in the NCAA East and the top distance in both the Valley and Great Lakes Region this season.

Sophomore Greggmar Swift ran 13.86 in the 110 meter high hurdles in the Polytan Invitational at Indian University which ranks 20th in the nation, ninth in the NCAA East, second in the Great Lakes Region, and third best in the Valley.

Senior Jeremiah Vaughan ran 3:45.23 in the 1,500 meters at the Polytan Invitational which ranks him 53rd in the nation, 30th in the NCAA East, and the fastest among Valley athletes this season. Vaughan also ranks third in the Valley, 61st in the NCAA East, and 130th nationally in the 800 meters with a time of 1:50.89 at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic.

Senior Craig Padgett established a school record in the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays with a time of 29:38.70. Padgett ranks 57th nationally in the event, 26th in the NCAA East, third in the Great Lakes Region, and is the best time in the Valley this season.

Junior Robert Webb ranks 76th nationally in the men's Decathlon after scoring a personal best 6,608 points in winning the event at the EIU Big Blue Classic. That is also the 30th best in the NCAA East, and fifth best in the Valley.

Sophomore Maurice Lyke ranks 73rd nationally, 39th in the NCAA East, and fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference for the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14:20 that he posted at the Indiana University Polytan Invitational.

Senior Ernest Rollins had a leap of 49-feet-3 ¾-inches at the Auburn Tiger Classic this season which ranks as the best distance in the triple jump for the Valley this season. The senior ranks sixth in the Great Lakes Region, 46th in the NCAA East, and 84th nationally.

Junior Dustin Betz ran a personal best 9:04.52 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the Indiana University Polytan Invitational which is the second fastest in the Valley this season and ranks him 41st in the NCAA East and 85th in the nation.

Junior Albaro Escalera currently ranks third in the Valley, eighth in the Great Lakes Region, 48th in the NCAA East, and 92nd nationally in the 10,000 meters after running the third fastest time in school history at the Mt. SAC Relays of 29:55.38.

Sycamores in the Rankings

The Sycamore men's team dropped 18 spots in the outdoor track and field national rankings produced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) with Indiana State now ranked 84th nationally. Illinois State is the top school from the Missouri Valley Conference at 54th with Wichita State moving up to 66th, Indiana State 84th, Southern Illinois 92nd, and Northern Iowa 111th. Among Indiana schools, the Hoosiers are ranked seventh in the nation followed by Notre Dame in 37th, Indiana State 84th, Purdue 100th and Butler 189th.

The Sycamores also fell one spot in the Great Lake Region rankings and are ninth. Wisconsin took over the top spot with Indiana falling to second, Ohio State third, Michigan fourth, and Notre Dame fifth. The second five is led by Akron in sixth with Kent State seventh, Michigan State eighth, Indiana State ninth, and Miami (Ohio) 10th.

The Indiana State women's team dropped 11 spots in the outdoor track and field rankings produce by the USTFCCCA with the Sycamores ranked 99th in the Week Four rankings. Illinois State jumped up 13 spots and are now ranked 12th to be the top school from the Missouri Valley Conference while Southern Illinois moved up two to 21st. Indiana State comes in at 99th with Northern Iowa 127th and Missouri State 147th. Among Indiana schools, Notre Dame moved up to 83rd followed by Indiana in 86th, Purdue 91st, Indiana State 99th, Ball State 151st, and Butler 178th.

Indiana State also fell one spot in the Great Lake Region rankings and is 10th. Ohio State moved up to the top spot with Notre Dame dropping down to second followed by Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana round out the top five. The second five is led by Michigan State followed by Cincinnati, Kent State, Western Michigan, and Indiana State.