Southern Illinois University
NCAA Outdoor Championships
McCall earns another All-America nod to close NCAA Finals
06/11/2011 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
June 11, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois junior Jeneva McCall earned her second All-America honor in as many days as the Saluki women's track and field team closed out the NCAA Championships with a 29th-place finish.
McCall took seventh in the shot put with a throw 55-05.50 to earn SIU two points in the team scoring. She stood ninth in the standings with one throw remaining before posting her best mark in the final throw to finish in the points.
"Jeneva told me, `I knew I couldn't get ninth place,'" Price Smith said. "Every throw, she went after it. Her last throw, she put pressure on herself and had her best throw of the meet."
Coupled with the eight points she scored with her second-place finish in the hammer throw Friday, McCall accounted for all 10 of Southern's points at the NCAA Finals, which were held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
"It's a little disappointing. I really thought we could've ended up better," SIU coach Connie Price-Smith said of the Salukis' team finish. "But just to get on the board at a meet like this shows you are competing among the best in the country. I am pleased we had five athletes here competing, and we just continue to try to get better."
Saluki senior Gwen Berry took home second-team All-America honors Saturday with a 12th-place finish in the shot put. Berry posted a throw of 53-01.50 to finish her SIU career with her second All-America honor.
"I was happy with Gwen. She has struggled with shot all year long, but she went out there and threw far," Price-Smith said.
The collegiate season is over for the Salukis, but Berry, McCall and SIU senior Jeff Schirmer will all compete at the USATF Nationals June 22-26 in Eugene, Ore.
Players Mentioned
