Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Track and Field looks to make mark at elite meet
01/28/2010 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
Jan. 28, 2010
By Jason Clay
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois track and field teams return to action this weekend to compete in one of the nation's toughest indoor meets at the Rod McCravy Invitational, Jan. 29-30, at Kentucky's Nutter Field House.
Five nationally ranked women's team, including the No. 20-ranked Salukis, and a pair of men's squads, including top-ranked Florida State, are all sending athletes to Lexington, Ky. for competition. The Saluki women's team jumped up three spots in the polls and is now the highest ranked team in the conference and highest-ranked mid-major school in the country.
Head coach Connie Price-Smith feels that this is the perfect time for her teams to vie against the nation's best.
"The team's confidence is really high right now and they have been competing really well, so I fell like this is a good time for a meet like this early in the season," Price-Smith said. "This weekend could push us higher in the rankings, not because of the schools we'll be facing, but because I feel like we'll be making some really high marks this weekend."
One event to watch is the women's weight throw, which could turn out to be a showdown between SIU and Louisville. The Cardinals sport a pair of throwers that have recorded the first and third longest marks in the country this season, but the Salukis rank second and fourth through sixth on that list.
Sophomore Jeneva McCall has put up the top spot for the Dawgs, but Gwen Berry, Rickael Roach and Sasha Leeth have all hit provisional marks this year. McCall is the only Saluki to have recorded an NCAA automatic qualifying mark this season.
The track at the Nutter Field House is 300 meters in length, and Price-Smith feels that it could make for some good races.
"You'll see some really good races in the 400 because of the track," Price-Smith said. "We'll also have a lot of our distance runners compete this weekend."
Kandise Thompson owns the top women's 400-meter time and Sammy Biggs leads the men's charge. Stephen Arvanis looks to build off his personal-best 800-meter run from last weekend's meet, where he fell just shy of hitting the NCAA provisional mark.
Players Mentioned
