Invaders' Decathletes (Falconer, McMullen, & Sullivan - left to right) Invaders' Distance Crew (Baker, Liss, & Hein - left to right)

March 3, 2001

(Atlanta, GA) - 10 of 11 competing Indiana Invaders finished in the top ten at USA Track & Field Indoor National Championships at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The Invaders' Collette Liss (Valparaiso, Ind.) lead the Invaders charge with her second national championship title. Liss' first title was a USATF Fall Cross Country Championship 16 months earlier. "Liss had some minor interruptions in what we would consider ideal training over the last few weeks, but from the beginning we looked at the Atlanta (USATF Indoor) Mile and a possible World Championship Mile as perfect final preparation for the World Cross Country Championships," said Coach Chris Buhler. Added Buhler, "We should be ready to deliver a very competitive performance at two World Championships in the next 3 weeks,……..we certainly aren't stamping the passport for a good March vacation."

The Invaders' dominance in the heptathlon was lead by Phil McMullen's third place finish with 5811 points in the heptathlon featuring a foot and a half PR in the shot put and a second place in the 1000. Brendon Falconer finished in fourth with 5794 points after leading the field through much of the first day and Kamau Sullivan (Pike H.S, Ind.) followed with a personal best effort 5409 points in eight. "We have a very strong group of young multi-event athletes that are preparing for success at the highest levels of competition in 3 to 4 years", said Coach Aron McGuire. Added McGuire, "Each of them had a couple PR's and they also have events with a lot of room for improvement. We are prepared to grow our opportunities in the coming months leading up to our outdoor championships."

Carri Long finished 4th with a clearance of 1.82 in the high jump for her best finish ever in a USA National Championship. In the other field events, Tara Loper tied her lifetime best in the weight throw on top of a wave of recent PR's this season with a heave of 19.00 taking 7th place after being ranked 11th coming into the meet. Invaders' throws coach Matt Gaston said, "Tara finished in the top ten at her first appearance at a national championship and threw her lifetime best mark. Tara is clearly of a mind-set that indicates she is an athlete that rises to the occasion of high pressure competitions and with this performance we look forward to breakthrough performances outdoors in the Hammer Throw."

Additional top ten performance in the field event arena included Lamont Dagen's 8th place in the triple jump (15.63) and Steven Parker's 9th place finish in the high jump (2.13).

In addition to Liss' title run in the Mile, the Invaders had several other highlights in the running events. Anderson Indiana native Kyle Baker's 8:03.66 effort in the 3000 earned a 6th place finish. Intermediate hurdler, Le'gretta Smith hurdled her way to an 8th place finish in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.32 seconds after running a life time best of 8.24 seconds in the semi-finals. "Le'gretta has to be very encouraged regarding her outdoor season as she is a 400 hurdler coming off of a PR indoor season in both the 60 hurdles and the open 400," said Coach Robert Thomas. Added Thomas, "Le'gretta has every right to set her sights on 56 seconds this year and future national team opportunities.

In the Mile, Priscilla Hein finished 11th with a 4:49.44 performance. "This performance is not a reflection Priscilla Hein's fitness nor her competitive abilities, we'll make some adjustments and see the real Priscilla Hein in the outdoor season" said Coach Buhler.

Performance Highlights:

Mile     1st  Collette Liss - 4:35.24
Hept.    3rd  Phil McMullen - 5811 points
HJ       4th  Carri Long - 1.82m
Hept.    4th  Brendon Falconer - 5794 points
3000     6th  Kyle Baker - 8:03.66
WT       7th  Tara "Big Time" Loper - 19.00m
60H      8th  Le'gretta Smith - 8.32
Hept.    8th  Kamau Sullivan - 5409 points
TJ       8th  Lamont Dagen - 15.63m
HJ       9th  Steven Parker - 2.13m
Mile     11th Priscilla Hein - 4:49.44

Heptathlon Day Two Results:
           60HH        PV          1000              
McMullen   8.36 (893)  4.90(774)   2:37.05 (906)
Falconer   8.13 (949)  4.40 (731)  2:46.95 (798)
Sullivan   8.26 (917)  4.80 (849)  3:09.60 (573) 

Heptathlon Day One Results:
           60          LJ          SP           HJ  
2 Falconer 7.05 (865)  7.57 (952)  14.06 (732)  1.96 (767)
4 McMullen 7.28 (785)  6.83 (774)  15.70 (833)  1.93 (740)
5 Sullivan 7.18 (819)  6.88 (785)  13.52 (699)  1.96 (767)