The ISU meet also produced three NCAA provisional qualifying marks.  The men’s Distance Medley Relay, made up of Shawn Etzenhouser, Jordan Rowe, Nathaniel Rogers, and Michael Pierce, tied for first place in a controversial finish, running a 10:04.4. This time broke the school record by over 7 seconds, and gives them the distinction as one of the only teams to hit a provisional mark this year in all D-II. Coach McElhaney commented: “The guys ran very well. I did see a couple of things during the race that can be corrected, but other than that they left it all on the track. That time may or may not get us to Nationals, and by the end of the year we could be right on the bubble.” The next big race was from sophomore Jenny Blair, who ran a 25.96 in the 200 to better her record by less than .10 seconds, which placed her top 10 at this very competitive meet. Junior Michael Pierce also had a good race, improving his National Qualifying time in the mile to a 4:11.05, just three seconds from the school record held by All-American T Jay Sanderson (4:08.12).  Pierce's time placed him 5^th in the entire meet and holds him at #3 in the nation. 

The next big race came in the Men’s 800 meter run; Sophomore Shawn Etzenhouser led most of the race, but finished 4^th running a 1:52.97. This time was also a provisional qualifying mark for the D-II NCAA National Track Meet and ranks Etzenhouser 2^nd in the nation. Coach McElhaney: “I was very proud of our 800 guys today, we had three guys run 1:56 or faster. Shawn opened a new door today; his performance has helped open his eyes to his true potential.  He ran a very strong race today.”

Three provisional qualifiers during indoor is the most ever in SBU history.  The last event of the day proved to be one to stay and watch also, the women’s 4x400 meter relay team comprised of Jennifer Gillespie, Kelsi Chowning, Jenny Blair, and Kassidy Porter ran a 4:05.06 to pass the school record by less than half a second. Coach McElhaney: “It takes a lot to run a 4x400 after a full two days of competition.  Each one of these girls had ran at least two races prior to running this relay, and still broke our school record.  We really have a special group.”

The SBU throwers travelled to Joplin where sophomore Jennifer Golden threw a big personal best to break her own school record.  The throw moved her up a couple spots in the MIAA standings.  Coach McElhaney: “Jennifer has been working very hard and deserves every success she gets.  It has been tough for her and Michael Morris due to the bad weather.  She has made big improvements since coming here.”

Coach McElhaney: “I had so much fun watching these athletes compete this weekend.  This is my second meet as head coach and it was special to see so many people improve on their career bests.  I was also impressed on how some of our freshman came out at a very competitive meet and showed no signs of fear.  It made a long trip well worth the drive.  Over ten athletes ran their fastest times of their careers or threw their farthest throws.  It is still very early in the season, we still have four meets counting the MIAA championships.”

The SBU Track and Field team has next weekend off and travels to The University of Central Missouri February 7^th and 8^th. 

Meet results:

Iowa State University

http://www.cyclones.com//pdf1/106256.pdf?SPSID=94173&SPID=11526&DB_OEM_ID=10700

MSSU Results

http://www.mssu.edu/athletics/womenstrackandfield/2008/BaymontResults.htm

MIAA Performance List

http://trackmeet.aspisolutions.com/publicconferenceperformancelist.asp?IDRegion=4&InOrOut=Indoor