Southern Illinois University
Gladstein Invitational
Track & Field impresses on first day of Gladstein Invitational
01/21/2011 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
Jan. 21, 2011
By Michael Benson
SIUSalukis.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Southern Illinois track & field team collected three event titles and 10 top five finishes Friday in Bloomington, Ind., on day one of the Gladstein Invitational.
Malaikah Love began the day with an impressive performance in the pentathlon, winning four of the five events - the 60 meter hurdles, shot put, long jump, and 800 meter run - by sizeable margins. The Carbondale native's final score of 3979 points easily topped second place Laura Morris' mark of 3495, but came just short of the 4075 points needed for NCAA national qualification.
"We had some sprinters who advanced to the finals, which was one of our objectives," said head coach Connie Price-Smith. "Malaikah performed well in the pentathlon, but other events were average."
On the track, distance runner Jeff Schirmer added another title to his illustrious career by winning the 5000 meter invitational with a time of 14:07.32. The mark that Schirmer hit currently ranks as the best in the nation.
In the field events, J.C. Lambert continued his dominance in the weight throw, earning the second Saluki event title of the night with a mark of 67-00.00. The win marked the third time in three meets this season that the Harrisburg, Ill., native has won in the weight throw.
Meanwhile, freshman Kenya Culmer continued to impress in the women's high jump with a mark of 5-05.25 - good for a tie in fifth place.
Five sprinters advanced to Saturday's finals. Both Anthony Seay and Kenny Blanks moved on in the 60 meter dash with times of 7.10 and 7.12, respectively, while Willie Knox and Jeremy Bankston moved on to the finals in the 60 meter hurdles.
For the women, senior Meredith Hayes clocked in at 8.69 in the 60 meter hurdles - the second fastest time of the night - to move on to the finals.
In distance events, Nick Schrader, Emily Toennies, and Megan Hoelscher all captured top five finishes. Schrader crossed the finish line in third place in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:29.24, while Toennies and Hoelscher teamed up to take third and fourth place, respectively, in the women's 3000 meters.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow with more of the events being tomorrow," Price-Smith said. "Overall, it was a good start to the meet."
The Gladstein Invitational continues tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET with the conclusion of the heptathlon, followed by the women's 200 meter race.
Players Mentioned
