Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Salukis trek to Hoosier State for Indiana Relays
01/29/2015 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
| Indiana Relays | |
| Dates | January 30-31, 2015 |
| Location | Bloomington, Ind. -- Gladstein Fieldhouse |
| Meet Info | Meet Central | Schedule | Heat Sheets |
| Live Results | |
| Live Video | None |
| National Rankings | National Top-25 Saluki Women: 27th Saluki Men: 58th |
| Performance Lists | Men's National | Women's National |
| MVC Weekly Release | Jan. 27, 2015 |
| Meet Notes | SIU Meet Notes |
| Records | SIU Record Book |
| SIU Social Media | @SIU_TrackXC  | Saluki Track and Field  Saluki Athletics | Saluki Athletics | Saluki Athletics  |
By Tyler Wooten
SIUSalukis.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Saluki track and field will end their current road trip with a stop at the Indiana Relays at Gladstein Fieldhouse this weekend.
Southern is coming off a solid meet at the Vanderbilt Invite last weekend (Jan. 23-24), where SIU got several impressive individual performances en route to four event titles -- each coming in the throwing events as the Salukis dominated in a male and female sweep in the weight throw (DeAnna Price and Curtis Wideman) and shot put (Raven Saunders and Josh Freeman).
Nationally, the Saluki women fell just outside of the national top-25 at 27th in this week's USTFCCCA computer rankings. That said, SIU got four new personal bests last weekend that now rank in the top-50 nationally. Senior Ashley Gaston hit a one-inch PR in the shot put at 16.86m (55-03.75) that earned her a second-place finish behind teammate Raven Saunders. Both Salukis rank in the top-five nationally in the shot put, with Saunders ranking second at 17.16m (56-03.75) and Gaston fifth at her newest best.
Senior DeAnna Price won her first weight throw title of the season on a one-inch personal best of her own at 20.77m (68-01.75) in just her third meet back from a knee injury that sidelined her all outdoor season in 2014. Price and teammate Sophia Lozano (21.57m/70-09.25) represent SIU in the top-10 in the weight throw in eighth and fifth place, respectively.
Freshman Lindsey Murray broke SIU's all-time indoor pole vault record for the second time in three meets at Vanderbilt at 4.10m (13-05.25). Murray shattered her old height by exactly three inches, and it even tops her all-time Illinois state high school girls record of 4.06m (13-04.00) that won her a state title as a senior at Harrisburg High School in nearby Harrisburg, Ill. Currently, Murray ranks 16th nationally in a stacked women's pole vault field on the national stage in 2015; in the last three weeks alone, the all-time NCAA record has been broken three times -- twice by Stephen F. Austin's Demi Payne.
For her efforts last week, Murray was named the Missouri Valley's Female Field Athlete of the Week -- along with senior triple jumper Luke James, completing the Saluki sweep in the MVC field honors for the third time in as many tries. Speaking of James, the Memphis, Tenn., native recorded perhaps the most impressive performance at Vanderbilt last week. For the third time in as many meets this season, James posted an incredible personal best, this time leaping 15.87m (52-01.00). Entering SIU's meet at Kentucky on Jan. 16-17, James did not rank on SIU's all-time top-10; now, he ranks third and has leapfrogged Olympian Ken Lorraway in the process.
The Saluki men also got event wins out of Josh Freeman in the shot put and Curtis Wideman in the weight throw. Freeman currently ranks 15th in the nation in the shot at 18.87m (61-11.00), and Wideman has top-50 marks in both the shot (27th, 18.35m/60-02.50) and weight throw (14th, 20.91m/68-07.25).
Day One will open with the non-invitational women's weight throw at 3 p.m.
NOTES
JUMPIN' LUKE FLASH
Only three meets in and it's already been an extraordinary season for senior Luke James. James, the defending outdoor MVC triple jump champion, has set a new personal best in his signature event in each of Southern's three meets this season -- and in the last two he has made some absurd leaps. At Kentucky on Jan. 16, James broke his newly acquired PR by one foot at 15.58m (51-01.50) en route to an event title, finally pushing himself into SIU's all-time top-10 list in sixth place behind Olympians such as Phil Robins and Ken Lorraway. Then, one week later at Vanderbilt on Jan. 23, James broke loose for another one-foot PR at 15.87m (52-01.00) to take the top-collegiate finisher spot. His latest jump pushes him from sixth to third all-time on SIU's illustrious indoor list, leapfrogging Lorraway in the process. Nationally, James is currently tied for seventh in the triple jump. SIU has not had a male earn All-American honors in the triple jump indoors since Robins finished third in 1976, and have not had one in either season since Robins won the 1976 NCAA title outdoors.
NEW HEIGHTS, PART TWO
It's already been a heck of a ride for Saluki freshman Lindsey Murray. In her first-ever meet at SIU, she broke Southern's all-time indoor record by three-quarters of an inch at 4.02m (13-02.25). Then, just this past weekend at Vanderbilt, Murray broke her own record by three inches exactly with an overall personal best clearance of 4.10m (13-05.25), which even tops her Illinois high school girls all-time state record of 4.06m (13-04.00) that won her a state title as a senior at Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Ill. Her latest PR moves her up to 16th in the nation, which would qualify her for the national meet if the season were to end today. Murray is the latest and most successful pupil of third-year SIU pole vault coach Brian Porter, whose female vaulters own six of the seven best leaps indoors in Saluki history and are all active.
NATIONAL UPDATE
In the latest national computer rankings released by the USTFCCCA, the Saluki women have fallen out of the top-25 but remain close by in 27th. The Saluki men have fallen from 39th to 58th. However, Southern still boasts 18 top-50 marks across both the men's and women's squads -- nine of which rank in the top-16 and would qualify for the indoor national meet if the season were to end today.
Women's National Rankings (Top-50)
2. Raven Saunders - Shot Put - 17.16m (56-03.75)
5. Ashley Gaston - Shot Put - 16.86m (55-03.75)
5. Sophia Lozano - Weight Throw - 21.57m (70-09.25)
8. DeAnna Price - Weight Throw - 20.77m (68-01.75)
16. Lindsey Murray - Pole Vault - 4.10m (13-05.25)
17. DeAnna Price - Shot Put - 16.19m (53-01.50)
35. Tori Parry - 5000 Meter Run - 17:12.79
40. Lauren Cheadle - Long Jump - 5.96m (19-06.75)
40. Alexus Scott - Weight Throw - 18.97m (62-03.00)
46. Remy Abrought - 60 Meter Hurdles - 8.49
Men's National Rankings (Top-50)
4. Kyle Landon - High Jump - 2.20m (7-02.50)
7. Luke James - Triple Jump - 15.87m (52-01.00)
14. Curtis Wideman - Weight Throw - 20.91m (68-07.25)
15. Josh Freeman - Shot Put - 18.87m (61-11.00)
25. Bradley Sauer - Weight Throw - 20.42m (67-00.00)
29. Franklin Adams - Long Jump - 7.39m (24-03.00)
27. Curtis Wideman - Shot Put - 18.35m (60-02.50)
40. Brian Dixon - 5000 Meter Run - 14:38.18
