KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. – The Indiana State track & field teams will be
battling for individual and team championships this weekend at the 2012 State
Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The
competition will be held in Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State
University in Wichita, Kan., on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Competition
begins at 11:30 a.m. (ET) Friday with the men's decathlon while the women's
heptathlon opens at 12:30 p.m. (ET) Friday. The two multi-events also start
Saturday's competition at 11 a.m. (ET) with Sunday's action starting at 1 p.m.
(ET) and wrapping up at approximately 5:20 p.m. (ET).
The
Sycamores return 15 athletes who have earned All-Conference recognition and two
event champions.
Major
Clay has won three straight Valley titles in the men's high jump and returned
to outdoor competition last week after recovering from an injury he suffered in
winning his third straight MVC Indoor title in February. The other returning
champion is Dustin Betz who won the 3000 meter steeplechase at the 2011 Outdoor
Championships.
Other
Outdoor All-Conference performers returning to the 2012 Championships include Brad
Adams, Justin Baxtron, Brandon Pounds, Ernest Rollins, Andrew Stull, Greggmar
Swift, Max Tuttle, Jeremiah Vaughan, and Robert Webb from the men's team and
Richelle Kimble, Leeann Michl, Jaquelle Spencer, and Stacia Weatherford from
the women's team.
“We
have a strong lineup for the 2012 Championships,” John McNichols, Indiana State
men's track & field coach, said. “We were a little anxious about our lineup
indoors and that may have been part of the reason we were unable to win the
team indoor title. For the outdoor competition we have the people competing in
their best events and that should help us as we try to defend our 2011 title.”
The
women's team is also stronger and more balanced than they were for the indoor
championships.
“We
are all pretty excited about the competition,” Angela Martin, Indiana State
women's track & field coach, said. “We fell that we have a lineup that
could move us up into the top half of the team race and perhaps challenge for a
top three finish.”
Pounds
returns to the championships after missing the 2011 competition due to a hand
injury. The Sycamore thrower won the shot put as a freshman and finished second
as a sophomore. Also returning after missing the 2011 championships is Spencer
who is looking to make her mark in the women sprints.
Temperatures
are expected to be in the upper 70s for highs with lows in the upper 50s. It
will be mostly cloudy Friday and Saturday with a 20 percent chance of rain with
a few showers expected on Sunday.
Live
stats and video from this weekend's championships can be found at:
http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=591033&SPID=2843&DB_OEM_ID=7500&ATCLID=205423283
