March 3, 2006
Track and Field
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATHLETES WRAP UP DAY ONE AT ALEX WILSON INVITATIONAL

Day One Results

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Indiana State track and field athletes completed the first day of competition at the Alex Wilson Invitational on Friday night. The short list of athletes went into the competition looking to improve on NCAA qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend.

Three of the four women that traveled to the campus of Notre Dame University competed on the first day with only one, Janae Bridges, improving on the marks set during the year. Bridges sailed to eighth-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 19’5.5” – an improvement of four inches on her previous best set at the MVC Indoor Championships. However, the jump and the jump of teammate Samantha McClendon (19’0.75”, 10th) failed to meet the NCAA provisional mark of 20’0.25”.

Santia Spight tied for seventh in the high jump with a height of 5’5.25”, but also failed to improve on her best mark during the season of 5’8.75” set at MVC Indoor Championships. Spight also came up short in making the qualifying mark of 5’10”.

Drew Traub was the lone athlete on the men’s side to improve on his indoor marks with a 60’1.75” fifth-place finish in the 35 lb. weight throw. Despite the improvement the distance was short of the 62’4” provision qualifying mark. Jason Carruthers threw short of his best mark of the season (67’11.75” – Feb. 10) with a second-place distance of 66’1.5”. The senior from Georgia may still have a chance to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships with the results of other final meets around the country still in doubt.

Hanif Muhammed also came up short in his attempt to improve on his best mark of 23’8.75” in the long jump with a finishing distance of 23’3.5” and an eighth place finish. The provisional mark for the NCAA championships was set at 24’5”.

“We didn’t have any major improvements today,” men’s head coach John McNichols said. “But, we will see what happens tomorrow.”

The remaining athletes will take to the track tomorrow looking to shave time off previous bests. In the field events, Yolanda Wright will look to make up the two centimeters that is holding her back from an NCAA qualifying mark in the triple jump, while Drew Traub will compete in the shot put and Paladin Jordan in the men’s triple jump.