Salukis ready to host SIU Invitational this weekend

02/05/2015 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field

Feb. 5, 2015

SIU Invitational
Dates	February 6-7, 2015
Location	Carbondale, Ill. -- SIU Recreation Center
Meet Info	Schedule \| Heat Sheets \| 200m and 4x400m Relay Performance List (Unseeded)
Live Results	Endurance Race Timing
National Rankings	National Top-25 Saluki Women: 28th Saluki Men: 56th
Performance Lists	Men's National \| Women's National
MVC Weekly Release	Feb. 3, 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

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Saluki track and field will compete in its first scored meet of the season when it will host the SIU Invitational this weekend at the SIU Recreation Center.

Competing at the Rec Center this weekend are 14 schools that will field 429 total student-athletes in the meet. This is Southern's second home meet of the season after hosting the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 6.

The Salukis are coming off a successful stint in Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Relays on Jan. 30-31. Southern left IU with seven event titles and two school records among many more impressive performances.

One of those school records was courtesy of freshman Lindsey Murray, who broke SIU's all-time women's indoor pole vault record for the third time in four meets. Murray won the pole vault invitational on a clearance of 4.14m (13-07.00) to break her old SIU record by nearly two inches (4.10m/13-05.25), and narrowly missed on her first attempt with the bar at 4.29m (14-01.00).

Murray will lead a stable of Saluki field stars on the women's side looking to improve their national rankings. Murray's most recent pole vault height ranks 18th nationally, one of eight top-50 marks for the Saluki women -- six of which fall in the top-20 and four of which lie in the top-10. Freshman Raven Saunders holds the NCAA's second-best shot put mark this year at 17.16m (56-03.75), and senior Ashley Gaston isn't too far behind in sixth nationally at 16.86m (55-03.75). Fellow throwers and seniors Sophia Lozano (sixth, 21.57m/70-09.25) and DeAnna Price (ninth, 20.81m/68-03.25) also rank in the top-10 in the weight throw, giving Southern a formidable throws crew coming into the halfway point of the indoor season.

But, the Saluki women have also posted some impressive feats on the track as well. The second school record to fall at Indiana was the women's 4x800 meter relay record, which had stood since 1988. The relay team of Kelley Gallagher, Alexandra Martel, Mobola Rotibi and Allison Gallo finished third with a time of 9:09.22, breaking the previous record of 9:09.60. Junior Remy Abrought also had a bright day on the track, running the best semifinals time in the 60 meter hurdles at 8.50 seconds, then running the exact same time in finals for the event title.

The Saluki men have been no slouches either, moving up two spots in the national computer rankings just this past week. Helping that was a new personal best performance out of returning All-American high jumper Kyle Landon. After being at 2.20m (7-02.50) for nearly one year, Landon cleared 2.21m (7-03.00) for a win in the high jump at the Indiana Relays. The clearance moved him into a tie for fourth all-time indoors at SIU with Neophytos Kalogerou (1996), and it pushed him into a tie for fifth nationally and within three inches of national leader Jacorian Duffield of Texas Tech (2.28m/7-05.75). Like Murray, Landon also had a near miss at a higher bar at IU, his coming at 2.24m (7-04.25).

Senior triple jumper Luke James had a productive day in his signature event, jumping his exact personal best 15.87m (52-01.00) for second place. One week earlier, James hit that same distance for a win at Vanderbilt and a jump up to third all-time at SIU, which still ranks 12th nationally.

Fellow senior Curtis Wideman also had a strong outing to improve his already glowing senior campaign. Wideman hit yet another PR in the shot put invitational, winning on a launch of 18.65m (61-02.25) that ranks 22nd nationally. He also took home highest collegiate finisher honors in the men's weight throw invitational at 20.59m (67-06.75) -- 12 feet behind winner and former Saluki J.C. Lambert, who recorded the 18th-best throw in world history at 24.20m (79-04.75).

Day One will begin Friday morning at 10 a.m. with the beginning of the multi events -- the men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon.

Teams Competing (Division I scored meet, 429 total athletes entered)
Arkansas State (men and women)
Arkansas Pine-Bluff (men and women)
Austin Peay (women)
Central Arkansas (men and women)
Jacksonville State (women)
Lipscomb (men and women)
Mississippi Valley State (men and women)
Murray State (men and women)
Southeast Missouri (men and women)
Southern Illinois (men and women)
UT Martin (men and women)

Weekly Notes

NEW HEIGHTS, PART THREE
The ink had barely dried on SIU's all-time record book from last week before freshman Lindsey Murray decided to make some more history. Murray broke SIU's all-time indoor pole vault record for the third time in four meets as a Saluki, this time winning the Indiana Relays pole vault invitational on a clearance of 4.14m (13-07.00) -- breaking her old record set just last week at Vanderbilt (Jan. 24) of 4.10m (13-05.25)by nearly two inches. Murray's new height ranks 18th in the nation in a stacked female pole vault field on the national stage (the NCAA record has been broken three times this season, twice alone by Stephen F. Austin's Demi Payne), and it ranks first in the MVC by nearlytwoinches.

NATIONAL UPDATE
The Salukis still hold 15 national top-50 marks after this past week of competition, only down from 18 last week. Southern also boasts six top-16 marks that would qualify for the national meet if the season were to end today, five of which rank in the top-10 and two of which rank in the top-five. Owning those top-five marks are freshman Raven Saunders in the shot put (second, 17.16m/56-03.75) and sophomore Kyle Landon in the high jump (fifth, 2.21m/7-03.00).

FORMER SALUKIS MAKING NOISE
The Indiana Relays were also a proving ground for two highly-touted former Salukis. Three-time NCAA champion and 15-time All-American Jeneva McCall won both the shot put and weight throw invitationals at IU, where she posted the top weight throw in the U.S. in 2015 at 23.41m (76-09.75) and the No. 2 shot put distance in the United States this year at18.83m (61-09.50). J.C. Lambert had a similar day in the men's weight throw invitational. The 2012 NCAA weight throw runner-up won on a massive five-foot PR of 24.20m (79-04.75), which is the top throw in the U.S. this season and registers as the 18th-best in world history.

Women's National Rankings (Top-50)
2. Raven Saunders - Shot Put - 17.16m (56-03.75)
6. Ashley Gaston - Shot Put - 16.86m (55-03.75)
6. Sophia Lozano - Weight Throw - 21.57m (70-09.25)
9. DeAnna Price - Weight Throw - 20.81m (68-03.25)
18. Lindsey Murray - Pole Vault - 4.14m (13-07.00)
18. DeAnna Price - Shot Put - 16.19m (53-01.50)
47. Lauren Cheadle - Long Jump - 5.96m (19-06.75)
49. Alexus Scott - Weight Throw - 18.97m (62-03.00)

Men's National Rankings (Top-50)
5. Kyle Landon - High Jump - 2.21m (7-03.00)
12. Luke James - Triple Jump - 15.87m (52-01.00)
17. Josh Freeman - Shot Put - 18.87m (61-11.00)
18. Curtis Wideman - Weight Throw - 20.91m (68-07.25)
22. Curtis Wideman - Shot Put - 18.65m (61-02.25)
26. Bradley Sauer - Weight Throw - 20.42m (67-00.00)
36. Franklin Adams - Long Jump - 7.39m (24-03.00)