KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, IND.  – The outdoor season for the 2012 Indiana State track & field teams is quickly coming to a close with the final tune-up before the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships set for Friday in Bloomington, Ind. The regular season for some of the Sycamores will come to a close at the Billy Hayes Invitational Friday which is hosted by Indiana University.

A total of 32 men and 32 women will make the roster for the 2012 MVC Outdoor Championships with most of the spots filled.

“It is down the end,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's track & field coach, said. “I am always surprised how fast we get to this point of the season. There is a regimen during the school year that is altered when the end of classes and that makes it a little harder to coach.”

McNichols said the Sycamores will be using this meet as their final tune-up before the conference with several members having a last opportunity to make the travel squad.

“For the most part we know who is going to the conference championship,” McNichols said. “But we have traditionally had some outstanding performances at the Billy Hayes and that could change the lineup we take to the Valley Championship.”

Competition at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on the campus of Indiana University will begin at 2 p.m. (ET) with the women's hammer throw and the men's javelin throw. Field events will continue throughout the afternoon and evening with the last events starting at approximately 8:15 p.m. (ET) featuring the men's discus and women's shot put.

Track events will open at 3 p.m. with the preliminaries of the men's 110 meter hurdles. The women's 100 meter hurdle preliminaries will follow at 3:15 p.m. Competition continues through the afternoon and evening with the last two events scheduled to begin at 8:55 p.m. (ET) with the running of the women's and men's 4x400 meter relay.

Two athletes who have missed most of the outdoor season will be back in action Friday as senior Major Clay and freshman Jonathan Christensen return to the high jump competition. Clay suffered a serious injury at the end of the indoor season and is just now coming back into shape. Christensen had tendonitis that began in the indoor season but that soreness is now almost completely gone.

“Both will be watched carefully during the competition but both need to compete to prepare for the conference championship,” McNichols said.

The Sycamore men and women will be concentrating on the sprints and middle distances Friday with some athletes running in their traditional events and others moved around to help with their training for the MVCs. Most of the field event athletes will also be competing as they look to better their season bests and earn a higher seed in the championship.