I apologize from the bottom of my heart for skipping a week of blogging, but now you get a DOUBLE ISSUE!

We competed at Rose Hulman on the 16th, and ended up with a 78-66 victory over Wash U (St. Louis). Indiana State and Illinois State competed in the meet as well, so we were able to run/jump/throw against a lot of quality athletes. Individually, we had some stellar performances to start off the year. Amanda "The Rock" LaRocca whipped out an automatic qualifying mark for nationals in the 55 hurdles with a time of 8.19 (also a school record). That's flying. In the 800m, I was able to squeeze out a provisional qualifying mark of 2:15.07, so that was exciting. Kerry Devitt posted up a 10:30.04 to capture the school record in the 3000m. Overall, we had 9 first place finishes on the women's side and 4 on the men's side. These included LaRocca (60 hurdles and 60 dash), Kyla Motz (weight throw and shot put), me (800), Gaby Johnson (high jump), Lauren Alpert (long jump), Ashley Heilengoetter (mile), Alicia McCoy (400), Darien West (weight throw - school record), Noah Dunham (800), Alex Lambert (pole vault), and Aaron Ball (400). On top of these accomplishments, we had numerous personal bests across the board. The most noteworthy event of the trip to Rose Hulman was the euchre showdown in which myself and Brandy Bird made Amanda LaRocca and Walter Kelley Farris never want to show their faces again. Coming back from a 1-9 deficit to claim an 11-9 victory is a testament to the power of dedication and perseverance. Life lesson learned. 

Last week got started with one of our most anticipated/despised workouts of the year...The Chase. In past years, I'd estimate that at least half of the team ended up with their heads in a toilet or trash can by the time the torture was over, but this year we sacked up and took it like champs (besides one chump, who I will spare from the embarrassment). The brutal training led us into our meet at Monmouth this past Saturday, where we finished 1^st of 5 teams. Once again, Amanda LaRocca exited the establishment with another school record and national qualifying mark, but this time in the 55m dash with a 7.17. Chinny Ekwulugo, Texan superstud, busted out a 38' 8.25" mark in the triple jump to also provisionally qualify for the national meet in March. Fellow Texan, Alicia McCoy, showed off her speed with her 1^st place finish in the 200m, an event that she took 3^rd in at last year's outdoor national meet. Other 1^st place finishes came from birthday girl Jessica Christy (300), Kerry Devitt (mile), me (800), Gaby Johnson (high jump - only 1 inch from qualifying for nationals), Lauren Alpert (long jump - also just an inch shy of qualifying), and the 4x400m relay in which Brooke Bernadoni made the crowd go wild with a come from behind win. The men's team trailed Augustana and Monmouth to finish 3^rd overall and received 1^st place finishes from Aaron Ball (200) and Noah Dunham (800).

Next up, we're competing on our home turf in the Titan Open on Saturday. For a taste of our training theme for the week please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLjY9B6UNrA. Any concerns should be directed to Coach Shoe.

Due to the numerous complaints from fans regarding the lack of jokes in the last entry, I've got another original joke for your entertainment purposes.

-Where do people from Illinois go when they're feeling depressed?

----They cross the border into a state of Missouri (misery...)