Trojans Find Success at Illinois College

RESULTS

The Hannibal- LaGrange track & field team made a return trip to Illinois College to compete in the Jim Green Invitational. Both the men and women fared well in the 12-team meet, with numerous victories, more new school records, and a national qualifier.

WOMEN
The women's team had another strong showing and got things going with back-to-back event wins. Senior Carissa Eichmeyer made her 2011 track debut, coming back from a hamstring injury to be the first women across the line in the 3K race walk. Her time of 19:00.96 is just off the national qualifying mark for the event. That effort was followed by the 5K, where Nicole Griesbaum recorded her first career victory, winning with a time of 20:08.29. Nicole's effort broke the school record she set last week in her debut in the event. Teammates Sarah Erickson (21:11.81) and Amber Zinkula (21:43.57) placed 3rd and 4th, respectively in the race.

Pole Vaulter Cara Grinde was victorious in the pole vault (3.20m) and just barely missed the national qualifying mark of 3.43m. Abbie Herrold placed 13th in a competitive weight throw competition and her toss of 11.80m set a new school record in the event. Abbie added a 9th place effort in the shot put (9.61m) to round out a solid day. In other field event action, Brittni Klundt finished 3rd in the high jump (1.47m) while Jocelyn Bright placed 7th in the triple jump (9.75m).

The ladies stacked up two relay teams and the results were solid. The Sprint Medley Relay team of Amanda Miller, Casey Pilliard, Christina Carter, and Sarah Erickson were victorious, crossing the finish line with a winning time of 4:50.06, a new school record. Not to be outdone, the Distance Medley Relay team of Mandi Riddle, Jasman Edmond, Sarah Wilson, and Breanna Newton finished second and the team's time of 13:10.97 shattered the old school record.

MEN
The men's team was led by winning efforts from junior standouts Philiph Tonui and Andre Townsend. Philiph led off the men's portion of the meet by cruising to victory in the 5K race. His time of 15:15.44 was his season-best and meets the qualifying standards for the NAIA Indoor National Championships. This marks the 5th consecutive championship meet that Philiph has qualified for during his time as a Trojan harrier. Andre made his return to the 60m hurdles where his time of 8.00 in the finals gave him the event title and kept him in line to be a factor at next month's national championships. Andre also performed well in the 200m dash, placing 3rd with a time of 22.78. He capped off his day by joining with Cole Peck, Stephen McTeer, and Bernardo Massuchin to place 2nd in the Sprint Medley Relay with a school-record time of 3:49.87.

The Trojans got strong showings in the field events as well. Easton Padden was victorious in the pole vault with a mark of 4.25m while Bernardo Massuchin placed 4th the a strong long jump field with a best mark of 6.70m. Michael Clemons placed 9th in the triple jump, setting a new school record with his leap of 11.54m.

The men's team competed in all four relays on the day and saw some great results. On top of the record-breaking performance in the Sprint Medley Relay, the 4x400m (3:40.99) and Distance Medley Relay (11:00.58) teams both had 4th place finishes while the 4x200m (1:39.74) team placed 5th.

COACH COMMENTS
I thought we had some really strong performances today. We sacrificed some individual events to focus on the relays, which was an exciting change of pace for the team. We had some good showings in those races but it was a well rounded effort across the board. It was great to see Philiph get the qualifying mark in the 5K. He once again raced without anyone pushing him so he had to push himself. It will prove to help him out later when the competition is stronger. We had several folks who are oh-so close to hitting qualifying marks and I expect to see those goals realized in the last few weeks of the season. Above all else, I can't say enough about how hard this team competes and, most importantly, how they display a God-honoring attitude that stands out everywhere we go. I am very proud of this team and I know they are going to push through to the end of the season and that the best is still to come.

Next weekend a group of Trojans will make the trip to Ames, IA to compete at the prestigious Iowa State Classic. On Saturday, Carissa Eichmeyer will travel to Marshall, MO to make a run at qualifying in the race walk as she competes at the Missouri Valley Invite.