Feb. 14, 2013

WATCH: Track & Field Preview

Silverston Meet Schedule

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State track & field will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 16 as they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Silverston Invitational. The meet will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the field events, while running events will start at 1 p.m. at the U-M Indoor Track Building.

Last Time Out
Michigan State dominated the men's weight throw at the GVSU Big Meet as three Spartans finished in the top-10 of the invite competition.  Redshirt sophomore Antonio James claimed an individual win as he tied his career-best mark of 20.92m/ 68-7¾. Redshirt senior Lonnie Pugh finished second 20.85/ 68-5. Placing eighth, redshirt freshman Connor Kostrzewa turned in a mark of 17.91m/ 58-9¼.

Pugh was also a runner-up in the shot put, throwing for a career-best mark of 17.82m/ 58-5¾ for second-place. James finished fifth in the event with mark of 17.29m/ 56-8¾.

Meanwhile, at the SPIRE Invitational redshirt senior Josh McAlary broke the previous meet record in an intense mile race. He finished third overall with a career-best time of 4:00.52. Also representing for the distance group, redshirt freshman Caleb Rhynard finished fourth overall in the 3,000-meter with a career-best time of 8:05.98.

For the second time this season, redshirt sophomore Leah O'Connor broke a meet record in the mile run. She finished third overall, breaking her own school record with a new career-best time of 4:38.74.

Record-Breaking Spartans
The Spartans have already rewritten the MSU record books during indoor competition.  So far, three school records have been broken during the 2013 season.

• Leah O'Connor
Mile (4:38.39) - SPIRE Invitational

• Beth Rohl
Weight Throw (21.40m/ 70-2) - Michigan Dual

• Amanda Impellizzeri
Pole Vault (4.05m/ 13-3½) - Notre Dame Invite

Climbing the Rankings
Eleven members of the Michigan State track & field team currently rank nationally in the USTFCCA computer rankings.

The top-ranked Spartan for the women is Rohl, who remains in the top-five in the weight throw with her school-record mark to 21.40m/ 70-2½. In addition to O'Connor's 20th ranked time of 4:38.39 in the mile, senior Amanda Impellizzeri is No. 23 in the pole vault with a mark of 4.05m/ 13-3½.

Redshirt junior Sara Kroll sits at 25th with a time of 9:18.32 in the 3,000-meter run followed by sophomore Tori Franklin who ranks 32nd overall in the triple jump with a mark of 12.50m/ 41-¼.  

On the men's side, sophomore Antonio James's mark of 20.92m/ 68-7¾ moved him into eighth in the weight throw while redshirt senior Lonnie Pugh remains in the top-10 nationally with a ninth-ranked mark of 20.85m 68-5. Senior Kurt Schneider sits at 15th in the heptathlon with 5,648 pts. Breaking into this week's rankings, McAlary is ranked 32nd in the mile with a time of 4:00.52. Rounding out the Spartans, James also ranks No. 34 in the shot put with a mark of 18.10m/ 59-4¾. 

Conference Honors
Earlier this season, the Michigan State women's track & field team swept the Big Ten weekly honors as  O'Connor was named Track Athlete of the Week and Rohl was named Field Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday, Jan. 28.

O'Connor broke the facility, school and her personal record as she took home an individual win in the one-mile run with a time of 4:40.41 at the Michigan dual meet. Rohl received the Field Athlete of the Week honor from the Big Ten for the second-straight week. She broke her own school record in the weight throw, winning the event in the Michigan dual meet with a personal-best mark of 21.40m/ 70-2. She earns the third indoor track & field award of her career and second this season.

Next Up
The Spartans will compete against conference foes as they return to Geneva, Ohio for the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Competition will be held at the SPIRE Institute Feb. 22-23.