Michigan State University
Big Ten Championships
Spartans Gain Momentum During Second Day Of Big Ten Championships
5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 12, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Michigan State women's track team collected 22 points for a 24 point total and sixth-place finish, on the second day of competition at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at the Nittany Lion Track on Saturday. The women stand in sixth place with 24 points and trail the leader, Minnesota, who has garnered 62 points through the first two days of competition. Leading the men's field is Wisconsin with 65 points, while MSU has yet to score points in the competition.
"There are so many highlights for the women," director of cross country and track and field Walt Drenth said. "After the indoor meet where we scored so few team points, we were miserable. The student-athletes have answered every challenge of our coaching staff and performed well at this meet. Our challenge tomorrow is to finish the deal. They have a chance to have a big outcome on the results tomorrow. We have people who qualified for the finals in most of the events we participated in today. Day three will be really exciting."
Leading the way for the women was Nicole Bush who ran her best time of the season in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:03.89) for a second-place finish and eight points. The junior was just two seconds off her career-best time of 10:01.04. Sarah Price completed the same race in eighth place with a time of 10:33.23, and added a point to the Spartan total.
"The steeplechase is a highly competitive event and to run as fast as she did, she is now truly one of the nation's elite," Drenth said. "To run a season best by the amount of time that she did is really good. We knew that fast time was in her and it was just a matter of getting her into the right competition. She stepped up for us really big today."
After finishing day one in sixth place in the heptathlon, senior Anna Coster moved up one spot and earned four points for the Spartan team with a fifth-place finish on Saturday. The senior broke her own school record with 5,012 points, previously set in 2005. Competing in three events today, she posted a 5.27 meter (17-3 1/2) leap in the long jump, a personal-best 36.41 meter (119-5) throw in the javelin and 2:22.57 in the 800-meter run.
"Anna started the meet out well," Drenth said. "She had to compete in the 800-meter event and did so."
Erica Bailey placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 15.20 meters (49-10 1/2) and added five points for the Green and White.
"Erica had a frustrating day in the hammer yesterday and to come back and throw close to her personal best in the shot put today was great for her," Drenth said.
Melinda Buckmaster added four points to the Spartan total with her fifth-place throw of 45.48 meters (149-2) in the javelin.
Also on the women's side, Paris Mandy (12.41) qualified for the 100-meter final on Sunday, while Charelise Davis will compete in the 100-meter (12.27) and 200-meter (24.47) dashes during day three after qualifying in the preliminary races. The women's 4x100-meter relay will run in Sunday's final after posting a NCAA-regional qualifying mark with a time of 45.62 on Saturday.
On the men's side, Ryan McMillian ran his way into Sunday's final of the 100-meter race, posting a season-best time of 10.94 in the event in Saturday's preliminary race.
"Ryan wasn't even seeded to score and now he is in the final," Drenth said. "It is a great tribute to his perseverance and his toughness and I'm really excited for him to have him be a finalist. He did a great job of leading the 4x100-meter relay on the first leg and then to come back and run as well as he did is a great accomplishment."
Senior John Childress finished second in his heat of the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.24 to earn a spot in the finals on Sunday.
"John has been steady all season and seems to be making progress every week," Drenth said. "He did a great job in the 4x100-meter relay. He is a true leader and stepped up as an upperclassman. He has the potential to do some damage tomorrow and we are not only looking for him to be a point scorer, but have a big impact in the front of the race."
Robert Sherman will also advanced in the 800-meter run. He ran a 1:51.42, posting his fastest time this season.
"Robert took over a race that wasn't going that fast to assume the lead," Drenth said. "I don't think that in any of those races, that the leader at 400 meters qualified for the final, and he did. He was the only competitor out of all of four sections that did."
Rounding out the men, were Jim Pancoast (3:56.44) and Ian Boyle (3:51.43), who both qualified for the 1,500-meter final.
"Jim (Pancoast) and Ian (Boyle) are both some of the better guys in the Big Ten Conference in the 1,500-meter run," Drenth said. "I think both of them are ready to run faster and Ian looks dangerously good right now."
The Spartans return to action tomorrow for the third, and final day of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. The day begins at 11:40 a.m. with the women's triple jump.
Players Mentioned
