Sophomore Tim Glover joined an elite group of Illinois State student-athletes in winning the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the javelin in June. He captured the title with a mark of 263-06 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
The throw earned Glover All-America honors and set Illinois State and Missouri Valley Conference records. It also marked the farthest collegiate throw in the nation during the 2011 season.
Glover, Tom Smith, and ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame member Christian Goy are the only three ISU track and field student-athletes to win NCAA national championships. Smith was a back-to-back outdoor champion in the high jump during the 1987 and 1988 seasons, while Goy was the indoor mile champion in 2002.
“Tim believed that he was going to be successful and win the national championship,” coach Elvis Forde said of Glover, who is the sixth ISU athlete to win a national title. This is the seventh title all-time for the Redbirds.
“When you believe something as much as Tim did, there is no reason it can’t be done,” Forde said. “He put his mind to it, worked hard, and accomplished his goal. Not many people come into the championships and leave a champion.”
Awesome!