Sophomore Tim Glover joined an elite group of Illinois State student-athletes earlier this year when he won the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the javelin. He took the event in June with a mark of 263-06 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
The throw earned Glover All-America honors, and set school and Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) records. His was the farthest collegiate throw in the nation during the 2011 season.
“They had me predicted to finish fifth,” Glover said. “So to come in to the championship and prove everyone wrong was an awesome feeling.”
The Normal native is a two-time MVC champion in the javelin. He qualified for the Outdoor Championships for the second straight season. Head track and field coach Elvis Forde credits Glover’s continued success to his determination and strong will.
“Tim believed that he was going to be successful and win the national championship. 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 in to the championships and leave a champion. Everyone is extremely happy for him, and the support that he got from the crowd and his parents was great. It was a truly amazing experience.”
As for the first throw that clinched the national championships, Glover didn’t feel anything special. “Once it landed, I knew it was really far out there. I didn’t think it was as far as the mark read, but once I saw the mark, it was a great feeling,” Glover said.
He is the sixth ISU athlete to win a national title, and captured the seventh title all-time for the Redbirds. He joins former student Tom Smith and ISU Athletics Percy Hall of Famer Christian Goy ’03, M.B.A. ’06, as 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 season, while Goy was the indoor mile champion in 2002.
