Senior Meagan Halliwill

May 15, 2008

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COMING UP
The Michigan State track & field team travels to Champaign, Ill., for the 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Championships on May 16-18, hosted by the University of Illinois at the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium. The Illini host the championships for the first time since 1997. Events are scheduled to begin on Friday, May 16 at 1 p.m. ET with the decathlon 100m.

COVERAGE
The 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. Live results for the championships can be found by clicking here.

2007 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Defending 2007 team champions are the Illinois (129 points) and Michigan (129) women's teams (co-champions) and the Wisconsin (145.5) men's team.

The Spartan women turned in a ninth-place performance at last year's championships with a total of 42 points, while the men came in 10th (28).

Meagan Halliwill is one of this year's returning athletes who are expected to score for the Green and White at the 2008 championships. Halliwill finished seventh in the hammer throw in 2007 with a personal-best toss of 52.14m (171-1). Halliwill blew past last year's personal best in every competition this season, setting a personal best of 57.80m (189-7 1/2) at the Jesse Owens Classic (5/3).

Junior Sarah Price put points on the board for the Spartans last year, finishing in eighth place with a time of 10:33.23 in the 3000m steeplechase.

Sophomore Charelise Davis gave MSU scores in both the 100m and 200m, setting personal bests in both events. Davis finished the 100m in sixth place (11.99) and came in seventh in the 200m with a time of 24.22.

WHO TO WATCH FOR
Sophomore Scott Beals returns after his fourth-place finish in the javelin at last year's outdoor championships. Beals' personal best was set at last year's event, where he came in with a launch of 63.40m (208-0). This spring, his season-best throw of 61.00m (200-1 1/2) came in the first meet of the season at the Raleigh Relays (3/29) in North Carolina.

Red-shirt junior Jeremy Orr has been sidelined for most of the season with an injury, but when healthy remains one of the top sprinters in the nation. Orr is coming off a successful indoor season in which he earned All-Big Ten honors after a second-place finish in the 400m (47.40) and third-place finish in the 200m (21.52) at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Emily MacLeod is having an exceptional sophomore season, as she has reached regionalqualifying standards in both the 1500m and 5000m. MacLeod reached her first-qualifying mark at the Gina Relays in late April, finishing second behind MSU's Lisa Senkiewich with a time of 16:51.62. She then cruised to another regional-qualifying finish in the 5000m at the Jesse Owens Classic (5/2), coming in third with a time of 4:25.71.

SENIOR SHOWCASE
Seniors Jason Brown and Meagan Halliwill have been exceptional for the throws teams, each hitting regional-qualifying marks in six-different competitions this season.

After not competing in the indoor season, Brown came out and threw a regional-qualifying mark in his first competition since spring of 2007. Brown's best throw this year came at the Colonial Relays (4/4), as he finished with a distance of 17.57m (57-7 3/4) in the shot put, taking home top honors.

Halliwill has carried over her success from the 2008 indoor season, finishing in the top three in six of seven competitions this spring. The Spartan senior's best performance came at the Jesse Owens Classic (5/2) where she tossed a personal-best 57.80m (189-7 1/2) in the hammer throw, finishing sixth.

Lisa Senakiewich has paced the women's distance teams all season, competing in the 1500m and 5000m. Senakiewich placed ninth at last year's outdoor championships with a time of 4:28.70 in the 1500m. Senakiewich has already eclipsed that mark by more than four seconds this season, finishing first with a regional-qualifying time of 4:21.69 at the Colonial Relays (4/4). The senior has also qualified regionally in the 5000m, coming in first with a time of 16:35.00 at the Gina Relays (4/25).

Senior Jackie Walton has continued to impress as well in the 2008 outdoor season. Walton has finished first in 100m hurdles in five competitions this spring, running a regional-qualifying time in four of five. Her best outing of the year came at the Colonial Relays (4/4) where she crossed the finish line with a time of 13.78.

FRESHMAN HELP
Complimenting the strong senior core is MSU's excellent cast of young talent. Freshman Zoe Pelbart and Katie Shaw have been extremely competitive this season, making strong contributions to the Green and White field teams. Pelbart has hit the regional-qualifying standard in the javelin in all four competitions she has competed in this spring, finishing with a personal best of 48.42m (158-10 1/4), which ranks as the 24th-best throw in the nation this season.

Shaw has claimed the regional-qualifying mark in three competitions this year. Her best outing came at the Spartan Invitational with a first-place finish in the pole vault, leaping a distance 3.85m (12-7 1/2).

Freshman men's pole vaulter Logan Lynch is set for a strong performance at this year's outdoor championship, after placing fourth at the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Championships with personal-best 5.03m (16-6).

Triple jumper Kyron Foster has qualified for regional competition in his freshman campaign for the Spartans. Foster jumped a distance of 15.27m (50-1 1/4) at the Jesse Owens Classic (5/3).

SHE WILL BE MISSED
One of the more experienced Spartan distance runners, Nicole Bush, will not compete at this year's outdoor championships. Bush had an impressive performance at the 2008 indoor championships with a second-place finish in the 5000m (16:00.25). She stayed on pace the following night with a time of 9:18.98 in the 3000m, finishing third, and taking home All-Big Ten honors. She shined at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships as well, earning All-America honors after her fourth place finish (16:03.27) in the 5000m and sixth-place finish (9:13.48) in the 3000m. The Spartan senior has redshirted this outdoor season in order to train for the upcoming Olympic trials at the end of June.

JUMP AROUND
Although young, the Spartan jumps teams have had a very competitive outdoor season. Two freshmen, Kyron Foster (Triple Jump) and Katie Shaw (Pole Vault), have already set regional marks in their events. Kris Amos has consistently hit the 2.00m mark in the high jump this season, with his best performance coming at the Raleigh Relays (4/29) where he cleared 2.05m (6-8 3/4), just two inches short of the regional-qualifying mark of 2.10m.

Chaquerra Allen provides stability to a young squad in her senior season on the Spartan track & field team. Allen has had three-top 3 performances in the triple jump on the season, her best coming at the Spartan Invite (4/12), as she finished in the top spot with a distance of 11.97m (39-3 1/4).