The Tribune-Star
Des Moines, Iowa —
A misstep early in the 400-meter hurdle semifinals cost Indiana State senior Erica Moore a chance to advance to the finals while freshman Stacia Weatherford, racing in the junior event, finished seventh in the finals of the 400 hurdles at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Nationals on Saturday.
“To make the finals is a huge accomplishment for Stacia although her final race was not the kind that we wanted,” said ISU men’s track coach John McNichols, who is the hurdles coach. “She is just a freshman and we expect great things from her in the future.”
While the future looks bright for a young Sycamore, an outgoing senior Sycamore and two-time All-American was not pleased with her result against the nation’s top hurdlers.
“Erica was really disappointed in her race,” McNichols added. “She was off stride early and at that level of competition, one misstep causes a huge problem. She came back strong, however, but wasn’t able to make the finals. She has had a great career wearing the Sycamore uniform and she will be remembered as one of the greatest female athletes ever at Indiana State.”
Weatherford ran 1:03.28 in Saturday’s finals. Weatherford also competed in the women’s 100 hurdle juniors, which was held on Thursday. The Sycamore freshman placed 16th with a time of 14.58.
Former Sycamore All-American Jordan Fife competed in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase on Friday, finishing 17th overall with a time of 8:59.85. Fife, who now competes for Team Indiana Elite, missed the cut for the finals by just three seconds.
Another former Sycamore All-American competed Saturday. Aubrey Herring placed 19th in the men’s 110 hurdles with a time of 13.96. Herring, competing unattached, was just 1.5 seconds off making the semifinals in the event.
Two more current Sycamores will be competing today, including NCAA champion Kylie Hutson in the women’s pole vault and sophomore Major Clay in the men’s high jump.
Hutson begins her competition at 1 p.m. She placed 12th last year in the USA meet at Eugene, Ore.
Hutson currently ranks fourth in the U.S. Her jump of 14-feet, 91⁄2 inches is the best outdoor vault in the nation so far in 2010 and it ranks 10th in the world.
Three professional athletes are ranked above Hutson heading into the national championship including Jennifer Stuczynski Suhr, who is the American Indoor and Outdoor record holder and won the event a year ago. Chelsea Johnson is the NCAA record holder and finished second a year ago, and Lacy Janson enters the championship with the top qualifying mark of 15-31⁄2.
Suhr was the silver medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games and also earned silver at the 2008 World Indoor Championship.
