Southern Illinois University
State Farm MVC Indoor Championships
Track & Field takes second at MVC Indoor Championships
02/27/2011 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
Feb. 27, 2011
By Michael Benson
SIUSalukis.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The Southern Illinois track & field teams earned five more event titles Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, while the Saluki men's and women's teams both took second place at the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships.
In the final team scores, the men fell to Indiana State by a slim 4.5 point margin, which tied for the second smallest margin in MVC history. Meanwhile, the women's team trailed only Wichita State in the final standings after tallying 125.75 points.
"I'm very pleased on the men's side because we were picked third and we finished second," said head coach Connie Price-Smith. "We had a lot of people that came in that had personal bests. Jeff (Schirmer) had an absolutely phenomenal meet, winning the mile, 3000, and 5000."
"I'm very pleased at the way everything came out in the end. I think there were places that we could have done better, but I'm happy with a second and a second."
Senior Jeff Schirmer took home the men's most valuable athlete honor after recording victories in both the mile and 5000 meter runs. Schirmer started his day with a win in the mile, clocking in at 4:12.25 to defeat teammate Zach Dahleen by three-fourths of a second. Later, the Troy, Ill., native emerged victorious in another close finish, taking the 5000 meter crown for the fourth time in his career after getting past fellow Saluki Dan Dunbar with a time of 14:37.12.
In the throws, Jeneva McCall was named the MVC's female outstanding field athlete of the year by defending another title, this time in the shot put with a distance of 56-06.00. She was joined in the top six by senior Gwen Berry (third) and Kim Fortney (sixth).
Malaikah Love won her second title in as many days Sunday, as she claimed the women's triple jump with a mark of 41-03.00. After winning the pentathlon and finishing second in the long jump on Saturday, Love finished the weekend with a team-best 28 points.
On the track, Meredith Hayes won her third straight indoor MVC title in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.40 seconds. With the win, Hayes joined Northern Iowa's Dee Wear as the only three-time indoor conference champions in MVC history.
In multi-events, Ryan Sidwell broke the SIU record in the heptathlon with 5080 points, good for fifth place. Sidwell also held the previous record of 4812 points, which he set two weeks ago at the GVSU Big Meet.
Six other Salukis took top three finishes in their respective events. J.C. Lambert earned a second place finish in the men's shot put with a toss of 57-07.50, Maxim Bakana was second in the triple jump at 49-01.00, and the 4x400 relay team of Brandon Deloney, Justin Kozak, Quincy Shelton, and Jeremy Bankston was third with a time of 3:21.20.
On the women's side, Miracle Thompson tied for second in the pole vault at 12-04.50, the 4x400 relay team - which consisted of Tess Shubert, Treden Gant, Courtney Hill, and Kandise Thompson - placed second with a mark of 3:49.84, and Emily Toennies was third in the 5000 meter, clocking in at 17:02.02. Toennies was also named the women's indoor track Elite 18 winner, which recognizes student-athletes who excel in the classroom and in competition.
Players Mentioned
