Michigan State University
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Taren James Captures Big Ten Triple Jump Crown
5/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 14, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - For the fifth straight year, Michigan State captured an individual title at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships as senior Taren James (Long Beach, Calif) won the triple jump crown with a leap of 12.35 meters on the final day of competition Sunday afternoon at Ralph Young Field. James, who placed second in the long jump on Saturday, finished just 0.01 meters ahead of Illinois' Kristina Jones, earning 10 points for the Spartans. Overall, MSU finished 10th with a team total of 41 points. Minnesota captured the team title with a score of 152.50, while Michigan was a close second with 134.67 points, followed by Penn State, who rounded out the top-three with a 115.00 total.
With a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meters, sophomore Nicole Bush (Wyoming, Mich.) joined James as a two-event scorer for Michigan State. Bush placed third in Saturday's 3,000-meter steeplechase in a school-record time of 10:10.94 before turning in a time of season-best time of 16:11.21 in the 5,000 meters, garnering five points for the Spartans
Sophomore Jackie Walton (Darien, Ill.) added an eighth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, posting a time of 14.32 during the event finals.
Senior Erica Bailey's (Milwaukee, Wis.) fourth-place finish in the discus produced five more Michigan State points. Bailey's toss of 46.77 was a personal best by nearly three meters.
MSU picked up an additional pair of points, in the field events, when Bailey placed eighth in the shot-put competition with a toss of 14.07 meters, and freshman Leanne Pare finished in a three-way tie for seventh in the high jump (1.65 meters).
The season continues for seven Spartans: seniors Taren James (long jump, triple jump) and Aimee Keenan (800 meters), junior Michelle Rafferty (5,000 meters), and sophomores Emily Adama (3,000-meter steeplechase), Nicole Bush (1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase), Etienne Chaplin (Heptathlon) and Jackie Walton (100-meter hurdles) have all qualified to compete at the NCAA Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tenn., May 26-27.
