May 15, 2007
Jellema, Sirbek heading to nationals
Final Accepted List (USI events only)
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana men's track and field team will be represented in three events at the NCAA II Outdoor Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 24-26.
Junior Paul Jellema (Dyer, Indiana) and freshman Tim Sirbek (Hammond, Indiana) were listed on the final acceptance list for nationals after a stellar spring for the Screaming Eagles.
 |
Paul Jellema |
Jellema will double in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, where he ranks third and fifth, respectively. Jellema posted his top 5,000-meter time of 14 minutes, 6.96 seconds at the Hillsdale "Gina" Relays after recording an automatic qualifying time of 29 minutes, 17.81 seconds in the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays.
This past fall, Jellema earned All-America honors on the cross country course after finishing 24th at the NCAA II Championships. He also earned All-America honors on the track in March when he finished seventh in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA II Indoor Championships.
Jellema was the GLVC champion in the 3,000 meters during the indoor season as well as the 5,000 and 10,000 meters during the outdoor season.
 |
Tim Sirbek |
Sirbek, who was the GLVC Freshman of the Year during the outdoor season, will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase chase, where he is seeded fourth. Sirbek won the GLVC championship in the steeplechase and posted his top time of nine minutes, 4.88 seconds at the Vanderbilt Invitational.
The Eagles will depart for the NCAA II Outdoor Championships Tuesday morning. The 10,000 meters is slated to begin May 24 at 7:20 p.m. (CDT), while the prelims of the steeplechase will begin May 24 at 5:15 p.m. The 5,000-meter prelims will be held May 25 at 6:20 p.m., while the final is May 26 at 7:03 p.m. The steeplechase final also is scheduled for May 26 at 4:15 p.m.
Dan McDonnell,
USI Sports Information
