Team begins outdoor season at Culver-Stockton

While snowy weather prevented the HLG track & field team from kicking off the outdoor campaign as planned, Tuesday brought about the team's first chance to compete outdoors. Making the short drive to Canton, MO, the Trojans met up with Culver-Stockton College for a Tuesday tilt that also included a handful of athletes from McKendree and Ashford.

RESULTS

On the women's side, Sarah Erickson had a very strong day taking home first place finishes in in 1500m (5:24.90) and 800m (2:36.20) events. Brittni Bastean took second place in the high jump (1.52m) while Jocelyn Bright had a solid outdoor debut in the triple jump (9.74m)

John Anderson led the men with two very strong showings in the hurdle events. John posted a time of 16.2 seconds in the 110m high hurdles while racing to a time of 58.5 in the 400m hurdles. This was John's debut in both events making his accomplishment all the more impressive. Ben Griffin took home top honors in the 1500m race (4:33.6) while Philiph Tonui, using the meet as a training day, won the 400m and 800m races.

A select portion of the team will head to Columbia, MO on Friday to take part in the prestigious Missouri Relays, an event that draws elite collegiate talent to compete in the two-day affair.

Snowed Out

The HLG track & field team had to postpone the start of the outdoor season as inclement weather led to the cancellation of the Central Methodist meet on Saturday.

The team will make the short trip to Canton tomorrow to take part in a small meet at Culver-Stockton College. On Friday, a portion of the team will head to Columbia to compete in the Missouri Relays.

Trojans Complete First Trip to Indoor Nationals

Philiph competing in the mile race

The Hannibal-LaGrange track & field team sent its first representatives to the NAIA Indoor National Championships this week in Johnson City, Tennessee and the trio that competed gained some valuable experience that will benefit the team in the future.

Sophomore Philiph Tonui (Kericho, Kenya) competed in two events at the national meet. On Thursday, Philiph ran the 5,000m race and, despite battling sickness, toughed out the grueling race to finish with a time of 15:35.74, which was good for 28th place. The following day, Philiph toed the line for an exciting mile race and felt much better, placing 14th with a time of 4:23.40.

Carissa in the 3,000m Race Walk

Junior Carissa Eichmeyer (Marthasville, MO) took part in the 3,000m race walk event on Friday and took home a 13th-place finish with a time of 18:13.72, her third consecutive race where she finished faster than the automatic qualifying standard for the event.

Junior Cara Grinde (Monroe City, MO) competed in the pole vault and unfortunately fell victim to an unusually high starting height by being one of 14 participants to not clear the opening height.

Coach Comments: It was a historic week for HLG Track & Field and I am very proud of Carissa, Cara, and Philiph for representing our school well at the national meet. They competed against the nation's elite and proved that they belong. As our team continues to grow and our number of national qualifiers increases, we will be able to look back fondly on this experience appreciate the significance of what this group has accomplished. The Lord has blessed our school and team with such great student-athletes and I look forward to seeing what the outdoor season has in store.

CHAMPIONSHIP MEET RESULTS

The team will enjoy the upcoming spring break before kicking off the outdoor track & field season on March 20 at Central Methodist.

Philiph went 4:23.40 in the mile...he ran a strong race coming after yesterday's 5K.

Championship Update...Cara warming up for pole vault...Philiph set to run mile in a few minutes.

Championship Update...Carissa finished 13th in 3K race walk...time was 18:13.72

Carissa is getting ready for the 3K race walk...hoping to really drop her time and surprise some folks. She's ready!

Nationals Update...PHiliph went 15:35.74 in the 5K. Didn't feel well but toughed it out to run a brave race. He's looking to do well in the mile today.

INDOOR NATIONALS....DAY 2

So we have made it to Johnson City, Tennessee, hone of the 2010 Indoor Track Nationals. I am racewalker Carissa!!!! We left Hannibal at 8 AM on Tuesday morning, but not before going through the McDonald's drive thru twice, because they forgot Coaches sausage mcgriddle...lol. The 11 hour ride down wasn't to bad, Cara, Philly and I slept most of the way. The rest of the time we were entertained by Coach Scott's college stories....they were pretty funny. Oh we watched GOAL! Today we went to Dick's sporting goods and looked around...can I just say that there was Tennessee Vols apparel everywhere!!!! LOVED IT!!! For lunch we had some PB&Js...but thats ohk because for dinner Coach took s to Cooty Browns..more about that later.
We went the track to workout....WOW...the track runs around a full size football field, the stands look like they go on forever. It's really cool because the track sits about 13ft below the stands. But boy was it crowded, runners everywhere, 200 athletes trying to get in final practices in before the big day.
Ohk so Cooty Browns is this place that looks like a home in the wall place but when you go in you are WOWed by bright lights and walls that are painted with all kinds of pictures. The food was amazing, I had the grilled shrimp. We had a piece of chocolate cake and key lie pie, probably the best key lime pie ever.
Cara was crowned Spoons Champion tonight beating out Coach Scott!!!!!!
Tomorrow Philly runs the prelims the 5k, 17.5 laps. GOOD LUCK PHILLY!!!!!