Track and Field: Weekly Release (January 22, 2002)

Jan. 22, 2002

THIS WEEK: Butler's track and field squad continues its three-meet, indoor home series when it hosts the Smith Barney Invitational at the National Institute for Sport and Fitness on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis on Saturday, Jan. 26. The meet, which is the second of the three Butler home invitational meets, will begin at 4 p.m. Throwing events will be held at the Butler Tennis Bubble on Butler's campus, beginning at 9 a.m. The Bulldogs, who hosted the Stan Lyons Invitational on Jan. 19, will visit the Meyo Invitational in South Bend on Feb. 1-2, before returning to Indianapolis to close the home portion of their 2002 indoor schedule with the prestigious Cannon IV Classic on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 8-9. The Cannon IV Classic has annually attracted some of the nation's top track and field athletes.

HOME RUN: The Stan Lyons Invitational, the first of Butler's three home indoor meets, produced several notable performances for the Bulldogs. In the men's competition, junior Mark Tucker (Geelong, Australia) won the mile run in a meet record 4:07.58, while running in his first race for the Bulldogs. Senior Justin Young (Peoria, Ill.) grabbed a runner-up finish in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 8:21.95, while teammate Marty Fedmowski (Melbourne, Australia) came in fourth in the same race in 8:28.65. Freshman Chris King (Connersville) improved his personal best effort while placing third in the shot with a toss of 44-10.75, and senior Ryan Falquist (Zionsville) notched a fifth place finish in the high jump with a leap of 5-08. Sophomore Trent Elliott (Westerville, Ohio) claimed a sixth place finish in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.73, while sophomore Brandon Baker (DeMotte) placed eighth in the same race in 9.09. In the women's competition, junior Amber Cox (Waldron) and sophomore Leslie Propst (Marshall, Ill.) finished second and third, respectively, in the shot put. Cox had a toss of 35-10.50, while Propst added a throw of 33-06.50. Junior Lissa Vogley (Naperville, Ill.) placed third in the mile run in 5:10.90, while freshman Monika Schneider (Northbrook, Ill.) was sixth in the same race in 5:25.65. Sophomore Rholonda Ash (Ft. Wayne) had another solid outing with a fourth place finish in the 400 meter run in 59.21, while freshman Aubrie Nelson (Westmount, Ill.) placed seventh in the 200 meter run in 27.09.

FAST START: Newcomer Mark Tucker (Geelong, Australia), who joined the Bulldogs at the semester break, made a strong first impression on his new teammates. The middle distance runner won the mile run at the Stan Lyons Invitational in a new meet record of 4:07.58. He was just three seconds off of Butler's school record, and he finished the race nearly six seconds ahead of runner-up Eric Redman, who was running unattached.