SUMMIT LEAGUE ALL-LEAGUE TEAM RELEASE

ELMHURST, Ill. - Four members of the Western Illinois track and field squad were named to the All-Summit League team as announced Friday (Feb. 25) by the league office. Nikki Klier (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs), Jason Crisman (Rushville, Ill./Rushville-Industry), Nichole Manning (Kansas City, Mo./Winnetonka) and Jamario Taylor (Aurora, Ill./East Aurora) picked up all-league honors.

The top three athletes in each event prior to the Summit League Championships earned the award. Two Leathernecks lead their respective events this season. Senior Nikki Klier is first in the Women's 400-meter dash with a time of 54.88 (at Meyo Invitational-Feb. 4), while junior Jason Crisman leads in the Men's Shot Put with a throw of 55-06.25 (at Illinois State Redbird Invite-Jan. 22).

Sophomore Jamario Taylor also picked up all-league honors as he is second in the Men's High Jump with a mark of 6-11.00 (at Iowa State Classic-Feb. 10). Meanwhile, junior Nichole Manning ranks third in the Women's Pole Vault after a mark of 11-11.75 at the Iowa Invitational last weekend.

This is the third Indoor all-league honor of Klier's illustrious career as the Algonquin, Ill. native was also selected to the 2006-07 and 2008-09 teams. Manning has also been named to three Indoor all-league teams as the Kansas City, Mo. native was selected to the 2007-08 and 2008-09 squads.

The honor is the second Indoor all-league selection for Crisman, who was named to the 2009-10 team and won the Men's Shot Put at the 2009-10 Indoor Summit League Championships with a distance of 52-05.13. This is Taylor's first Indoor all-league honor.

Several Western Illinois athletes are poised to capture conference titles this weekend as the Fighting Leatherneck indoor track and field team hits the road for The Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships. The event will take place in Fargo, N.D. on the campus of North Dakota State University, Feb. 27-28.

This season marks the second consecutive year that the championships have been held at the Bison Sports Arena. The championships begin on Sunday (Feb. 27) at 9:30 a.m. as the women's pentathlon and the men's heptathlon are the first events of the meet. Competition will go all day on Sunday and then begin again on Monday (Feb. 28) at 10 a.m.

The championships can be followed via the live stats link or web streaming on the Indoor Track and Field Championship page. Live stats coverage is free, while web streaming is a fee-based video feed available on Sunday from 4-7 p.m. and on Monday from 1-4 p.m.

Western Illinois All-League Honorees (WOMEN'S TEAM)

NAME                                        EVENT                                   RANK

Nikki Klier (3rd overall)               Women's 400-Meter Dash       1^st

Nichole Manning (3rd overall)    Women's Pole Vault                 3rd

Western Illinois All-League Honorees (MEN'S TEAM)

NAME                                        EVENT                                   RANK

Jason Crisman (2nd overall)      Men's Shot Put                        1^st

Jamario Taylor (1st overall)        Men's High Jump                     2^nd