Michigan State University
Indiana Invitational
Track & Field Men Claim Indiana Invite Title; Women Second
4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 18, 2009
Complete Results
Complete Team Scores
Day One Recap
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2009 Michigan State track & field program saw its men take home top honors at the Indiana Invitational and its women earn second place, Saturday at Robert C. Haugh Track on the campus of Indiana. In all, MSU claimed 13 event titles, posted 11 regional qualifying marks and shattered two school records at the two-day event. Freshman Lonnie Pugh (Grosse Ile, Mich.) set the school record in the discus with a mark of 56.33m (184-10) while Nicole Bush (Wyoming, Mich.) broke Jamie Krzyminski's record in the 5,000m run with a time of 15:54.26. Both Pugh and Bush took home titles in those events and both marks currently rank them first in the Big Ten Conference.
The men defeated teams from Indiana, Indiana State and Southern Illinois to take home the title with 196 points, 11 ahead of Indiana. The women took second, topping Indiana State and Southern Illinois, but trailing Indiana by only 21 points with 177. They edged third-place SIU by 34 points.
"It was a great meet for us. We have talked about managing the ups and downs of a meet like this one. If we didn't perform well in one event, someone seemed to be there to pick it up in every other event," director of track & field Walt Drenth said. "We had a lot of good performances and we competed really well. I thought that at our other scored meet this spring, the USF Quad Meet, we didn't compete as well and today showed a lot of the progress that this program is making. We beat Indiana who had just defeated defending indoor national champion Oregon, so I am very pleased."
The Spartans opened the day with the men's javelin throw, an event that they dominated, placing three student-athletes in the top five in the event, including the top two spots. Scott Beals (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), the school-record holder in the event, took home top honors with a heave of 56.13m (184-2), a season-best mark. Teammate Jerry Hessell (New Haven, Mich.) finished just behind Beals in second place with a personal-best mark of 54.95m (180-3).
The field events continued with the women's pole vault. Sophomore Ashley Smith (Ceresco, Mich.) paced the Spartans in the event after finishing second with a regional qualifying mark of 3.85m (12-7 ½). Katie Shaw (Lakeview, Mich.), who has also regionally qualified this season, finished in fourth place after clearing a height of 3.75m (12-3 ½).
Kevin Jackson (Detroit, Mich.) paced the Spartans in the men's high jump, placing fifth after tying his season-best mark of 2.00m (6-6 ¾). Brent Shuttleworth (Edwardsburg, Mich.) cleared the same height to finish seventh in the event; his height is a personal-best. Becca Buchholtz (East Troy, Wis.) paced MSU on the women's side, placing second with a leap of 1.70m (5-7).
Sophomore Ashley Lawrence (Troy, Mich.) got things going for the women in the throws. Lawrence tossed a regional qualifying mark of 14.52m (47-7 3/4) in the shot put, earning fourth place. Teammate Catherine Daniels (Whittemore, Mich.) placed just behind Lawrence in fifth with a personal-best throw of 14.10m (46-3 1/4). Brad Wentzel (Allegan, Mich.) also posted a regional qualifying mark in the shot put on the men's side. Wentzel threw 16.89m (55-5) in his final attempt, a personal-best. Wentzel also improved his regional qualifying mark in the discus, tossing 53.06m (174-1), earning him second place behind only Pugh.
Sophomore Shane Wells (Romulus, Mich.) claimed the 110m hurdles title for the third time this season. His time of 14.54 is his third-fastest of the outdoor season. He has already regionally qualified in the event with a time of 14.23 earlier this season.
The women continued the Spartans' success on the short track, highlighted by sprinters Charelise Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Erica Mann (Battle Creek, Mich.). Davis and Mann took second and fourth in the 100m dash with times of 11.86 and 12.23, respectively. The pair followed that with an even better performance in the 200m dash later in the day. Davis won the event with a time of 24.23, the second-best team time of the season, while Mann finished in third place after she clocked in at 25.06, her second-best time of the season. Sophomore Yury Ratomski (Novi, Mich.) led the men in the short sprints as he claimed the 200m dash title after turning in a time of 21.55; he also finished fifth in the 100m dash with a time of 10.79.
Following the short sprints, senior Jeremy Orr (Detroit, Mich.) made his outdoor debut in the 400m dash. Orr, an NCAA Indoor national qualifier in the event, posted a regional qualifying time of 46.78, pacing the field en-route to the event title. Teammate Keith Hewlett (Detroit, Mich.) finished just behind Orr in second place, just missing a regional qualifying time at 47.58. Michelle Gay (Lakewood, Kan.) paced the women in the event with a third-place nod after finishing in 57.30. Orr, Hewlett, Wells and Michael Smoot (Trenton, Mich.) comprised the 4x400m relay team that took home top honors with a time of 3:11.61.
Jake Hamilton (Troy, Mich.) placed second in the 400m hurdles with his best time of the season, 53.20. The men and women also saw success in the 800m run as Shane Knoll (Warren, Mich.) set a regional qualifying time of 1:49.62, earning him the event title, his second on the weekend as he won the 1,500m run yesterday. Lisa Senakiewich (Davison, Mich.) and Emily MacLeod (Cincinnati, Ohio) placed third and fourth in the women's 800m run, respectively.
Senior Sarah Price (Mankato, Minn.) was the Spartans' final regional qualifier on the day. Price ran 10:30.12 in the 3,000m steeplechase to qualify and take home the event title. Patrick Grosskopf (Corruna, Mich.) paced the men by finishing third in the event with a time of 9:12.01.
MSU will return to action next weekend as they head to one of the most well-renowned meets in the nation, the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
Players Mentioned
