Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State Track & Field Set for B1G Championships
2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
EAST LANSING, Mich. â€" Michigan State is set to compete in the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio from Friday, Feb. 24 to Saturday, Feb. 25.
The Spartans are no strangers to SPIRE, having just competed there a few weeks ago for the Division I SPIRE Invitational, Feb. 10-11. Michigan State came back from the SPIRE Invitational with top finishes and personal-bests in multiple events across the board.
"We had some good results last time out down at the SPIRE," said Director of Cross Country & Track and Field Walt Drenth. "It's always nice to see a venue before a championship. It's always nice to get a feel for the rings and runways and kind of how they operate. It was good for us, it was a good meet for us and hopefully it will be a good sign for how things will go for us this weekend."
Senior Antonio Clarke and redshirt senior David Washington anchor the men's sprinters, both recording top-times at the SPIRE, Feb. 10-11. Clarke ran a 48.02 and Washington ran a 48.06 in the 400-meter events taking 10th and 11th-place. Sophomores Asya Reynolds, Taylor Hopp, and senior Cierra Pryor have led the women's team in the sprinting events holding top-times in the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash throughout the season.
For the distance runners, redshirt senior Sherod Hardt and junior Clark Ruiz both garnered first-place finishes the last time out at the SPIRE Invitational. Hardt finished first in the mile with a personal-best time of 4:06.43, while Ruiz also earned a first with a personal-best time of 14:13.34 in the 5,000-meter. Sophomore Dillion McClintock broke out during the SPIRE Invitational leading the team with top-times in both the 800-meter and 1,000-meter run. She finished seventh in both events with times of 2:09.12 and 2:50.46, respectively. Senior Alexis Wiersma has led the women's distance team for years and continues to pace the way with season-best times in both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs. She took second in the 5,000-meter run at the SPIRE Invitational with a season-best time of 16:01.18.
"We have a decent balance, we have people everywhere," said Drenth. "We are looking forward to seeing how they score."
The Spartans also show promise in its field events. Sophomore Cody Stemple will lead the high jump effort, while he's had a personal-best jump 2.15-meters at the Simmons-Harvey Invite. Junior Noah Gary has MSU's highest height of the season in the pole vault with a season-best jump of 5.33-meters, while redshirt junior Tim Erhardt will represent the Spartans in the heptathlon. Redshirt junior Riley Norman will continue to lead the throwing effort in both the shot put and weight throw. Returning outdoor All-American redshirt junior Katelyn Daniels has thrown season-best throws of 15.35-meters and 19.56-meters in the shot put and weight throw, respectively.
VENUE
The Spartans will get to compete in one of the most premier facilities in the nation, the SPIRE Institute. With its top of the line features and ample seating accommodations, it is the ideal place to host an event of this caliber. The venue has seen some of the most elite athletes from all over the country from collegiate student-athletes to Olympians.
"It's quite a complex, it's an Olympic and Paralympic training center for the United States teams," said Drenth. "The person who put it together wanted to attract athletes. They have a bio mechanic lab, they have a swimming facility, track complex, they do a lot of clinics for soccer and football and they also have residents who stay there year round for training and nutrition. It's an independently owned facility. Most of the facilities in the Big Ten can't accommodate both genders and fans that come with it and that's why we've ended up at a neutral site."
SCHEDULE
The competition will kick off with men's 60-meter heptathlon on Friday at 10 a.m. Events will run back-to-back throughout the day with the last event beginning at 6:50 p.m. Saturday's competition will begin at 10 a.m. as well, but will end with an awards presentation beginning at 4:50 p.m.
TICKETS
Online purchase is no longer available, but tickets will be sold at the door and accept cash or credit. Adult two-day passes are available for $20 and adult single day tickets are available for $12. Special rates will apply for seniors, retired and active military, students and children under six.
COVERAGE
BTN will air tape-delayed coverage of the Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 27. Events will also be streamed live on Friday and Saturday on BTN Plus via BTN2Go. Live results and daily updates of the championships will be available through bigten.org. Championships updates are also available through Twitter via @BigTenChamps and @MSUTrackFieldXC .
FULL SCHEDULE
Friday
10:00 am Heptathlon 60m (men)
@10:45 Heptathlon Long Jump (men)
@10:50 Pentathlon 60m Hurdles (women)
11:30 Men's Pole Vault (trials & finals)
@11:40 Pentathlon High Jump (women)
12:00 pm Men's 3,000m (unseeded section) (finals)
12:20 Women's 3,000m (unseeded section) (finals)
@12:30 Heptathlon Shot Put (men)
12:40 Men's Mile Run (trials)
1:00 Women's Mile Run (trials)
1:20 Men's 400m (trials)
1:45 Women's 400m (trials)
@1:45 Heptathlon High Jump (men)
@2:00 Pentathlon Shot Put (women)
2:10 Men's 60m (trials)
2:30 Women's 60m (trials)
2:50 Men's 800m (trials)
3:10 Women's 800m (trials)
@3:15 Pentathlon Long Jump (women)
3:30 Women's Pole Vault (trials & finals)
3:30 Men's Shot Put (trials & finals)
3:30 Men's 60m Hurdles (trials)
3:50 Women's 60m Hurdles (trials)
4:10 Men's 600m (trials)
4:35 Women's 600m (trials)
4:45 Men's Long Jump (trials & finals)
4:45 Women's Long Jump (trials & finals)
@4:55 Pentathlon 800m (women)
5:00 Men's 200m (trials)
5:25 Women's 200m (trials)
5:30 Women's Shot Put (trials & finals)
5:50 Men's 3,000m (seeded section) (finals)
6:10 Women's 3,000m (seeded section) (finals)
6:30 Men's Distance Medley Relay (finals)
6:50 Women's Distance Medley Relay (finals)
@ - approximate time
Saturday
10:00 am Heptathlon 60m Hurdles (men)
@11:00 Heptathlon Pole Vault (men)
11:00 Men's High Jump (trials & finals)
11:00 Women's Triple Jump (trials & finals)
11:10 Men's Weight Throw (trials & finals)
12:30 pm Men's 5,000m (unseeded section) (finals)
12:55 Women's 5,000m (unseeded section) (finals)
1:20 Men's Mile Run (finals)
1:30 Women's Mile Run (finals)
@1:30 Heptathlon 1,000m (men)
1:40 Men's 400m (finals)
1:45 Women's Weight Throw (trials & finals)
1:50 Women's 400m (finals)
2:00 Men's Triple Jump (trials & finals)
2:00 Women's High Jump (trials & finals)
2:00 Men's 60m (finals)
2:10 Women's 60m (finals)
2:20 Men's 800m (finals)
2:30 Women's 800m (finals)
2:40 Men's 60m Hurdles (finals)
2:50 Women's 60m Hurdles (finals)
3:00 Men's 600m (finals â€" 2 sections)
3:10 Women's 600m (finals â€" 2 sections)
3:20 Men's 200m (finals)
3:30 Women's 200m (finals)
3:40 Men's 5,000m (seeded section) (finals)
4:05 Women's 5,000m (seeded section) (finals)
4:20 Men's 4x400m Relay (finals â€" 2 sections)
4:35 Women's 4x400m Relay (finals â€" 2 sections)
4:50 AWARDS PRESENTATION
@ - approximate time
