Feb. 19, 2009

2008-09 Top Event Performances
• Men
• Women

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 2008-09 Michigan State track & field program will travel to its final meet before the Big Ten Indoor Championships as it will send a select group of student-athletes to the Silverston Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the women's weight throw at the UM Indoor Track Building. Click here for a complete schedule of events.

The Silverston Invitational will provide the Spartans with one final tune-up before they head to the Big Ten Championships next weekend. In particular, several throwers and sprinters will be making the trip for MSU, including top shot putter Brad Wentzel (Allegan, Mich.). Wentzel owns the top two shot put marks on the team this season, with his season-best toss of 16.67m (58-8 1/4) coming at the MSU Open. Also making the trip will be weight throwers on both the men's and women's side, including Ashley Lawrence (Troy, Mich.) and Beth Rohl (New Buffalo, Mich.), who currently sit in first and second on the team, respectively, in the weight throw. The two also occupy the top two shot put marks on the season as Rohl leads the way with a top toss of 14.00m (45-11 1/4).

Several sprinters, including Charelise Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.), will be making the trip as well. Davis, who was honored as the Big Ten Female Track Athlete of the Week following the MSU Open in December, will compete for the first time since the Notre Dame Invitational on Jan. 23. Davis holds the top three marks on the team in the 200m dash, including a personal-best time of 24.64 at the Notre Dame Invite. Joining Davis in the sprints will be Shane Wells (Romulus, Mich.) and David Calille (Canton, Mich.). Wells owns the top five team times in the 60m hurdles this season and is coming off of a season-best performance of 7.98 at last weekend's GVSU Big Meet. Calille has made his mark in the 200m, 300m and 400m dashes this season and will look to improve his marks this weekend.

Both the men's and women's teams have combined to break seven school records during the indoor season. The men's team has risen to No. 19 in the US Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association poll, the highest ranking for an MSU track & field team since the USTFCCCA switched to its current ranking system in 2002, making this indoor season one of the finest in recent memory for the Spartans. The men have been able to move up the national ranks on the heels of senior Jeremy Orr (Detroit, Mich.) and junior Shane Knoll (Warren, Mich.). Both Orr and Knoll have made their marks on a national level. Orr held the nation's top mark in the 400m dash, 46.41, for two weeks and currently ranks fourth in the country. His time of 21.23 in the 200m dash also ranks tops in the Big Ten.

Orr also runs as the lead in the men's 4x400m relay team that broke a 26-year school record with a time of 3:09.59 at the GVSU Big Meet. Their time ranks second in the Big Ten and 10th in the nation. Knoll has been equally impressive this season, highlighted by his performance in the Meyo Mile when he ran only the second sub-four-minute mile in school history, breaking a 37-year school record. His time of 3:57.39 ranks tops in the Big Ten and trails only German Fernandez of Oklahoma State nationally. Knoll backed up his performance in the Meyo Mile by breaking the school's 800m mark the very next week at the GVSU Big Meet. His time of 1:48.97 is the eighth-best mark in the nation this season. Both Knoll and Orr have been honored as the Big Ten Male Track Athlete of the Week in each of the last two weeks.

The women have been equally as impressive this season, highlighted by a trio of distance runners, Lisa Senakiewich (Davison, Mich.), Emily MacLeod (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Sarah Price (Mankato, Minn.). All three have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the mile run while both Senakiewich and MacLeod have posted provisional marks in the 3,000m run as well.

For a complete recap along with results from the Silverston Invitational, check back with www.msuspartans.com.