Southern Illinois University
MVC Outdoor Championships
Three Salukis win titles on day two of MVC Championships
05/14/2016 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
By: Will Becque
SIUSalukis.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Southern Illinois men's and women's track and field teams had three more individuals win titles during the second day of the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships Saturday.
Saluki senior Josh Freeman became the first thrower in the MVC's 108-year history to win four-straight outdoor shot put titles, while DeAnna Price won her second title of the meet and Kyle Landon won the high jump for the third-straight season.
Freeman posted a toss of 61-10.50 (18.86m) on his third throw and held on to win his seventh career MVC title, winning by 3/4ths of an inch. The three-time All-American will now shift his focus to Sunday's discus competition, as the defending MVC discus champion can become the first Valley thrower in 16 years to repeat as both the shot put and discus champion.
Price threw 51-03.50 (15.63m) on her fourth attempt to win her second title of the meet. She has now won three MVC outdoor shot put titles.
A win in the discus Sunday would give Price a sweep in the outdoor throws events for the first time in her career, a feat that SIU alumna Jeneva McCall last accomplished in 2012.
Landon cleared 7-2.50 (2.20m) to tie the previous Gibson Track & Field Complex record of 7-2.50 set by Wally Ellenson of Marquette earlier this season. Landon is the eighth three-time winner of the outdoor men's high jump competition. The Saluki junior has also won three straight MVC indoor titles, giving him six-straight high jump championships in conference action.
Freeman, Price, and Landon included, five Salukis secured All-Conference honors by virtue of finishing in the top-three in their respective events.
Senior Alexus Scott earned the first All-MVC outdoor honors of her career in the shot put with a third-place throw of 50-8.75 (15.46m).
On the men's side, senior Kemar Jones earned his first outdoor All-Conference nod with a runner-up showing in the high jump. Jones tied a career-best with a leap of 6-11 (2.11m). The senior from St. Phillip, Barbados wasn't done there, as he advanced to Sunday's finals in the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles. Jones ran the second-fastest prelim time in the 400-meter hurdles despite it being his third event of the day.
Outside Southern's All-MVC contingent, the Salukis scored key team points in both the men's and women's long jump. Landon led the way with a fourth place finish to tack on five points. Louis Dotson leaped a career-best 23-5.25 (7.14m) to finish seventh while Franklin Adams added an eighth place finish. For the SIU women, Kezia Martin set a PR with a jump of 18-6.50 (5.65m) to take sixth and score three points.
Several SIU student-athletes had strong showings in their preliminary races to punch a ticket to Sunday's finals.
On the track, Ashanna Hodge posted the fastest qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles while Chrissa Harris won her heat of the 400-meter dash with the second-fastest qualifying time.
Other Salukis who qualified for Sunday's championships on the women's side were Mystique Thompson and Tyjuana Eason in the 100-meter dash and Remy Abrought in the 100-meter hurdles. On the men's side, Nikolai Gall and Warren Hazel qualified in the 400-meter dash and Lucas Horton advanced in the 800-meter run.
After eight events, the SIU men sit in second place with 61 points behind Wichita State with 128 points. After nine complete events, the SIU women sit in fourth with 46 points while the Shockers lead with 123.5 points.
Sunday's action begins at 12 p.m. with the women's triple jump and discus. Live coverage of Sunday's final round begins at 12:55 p.m. on the Valley on ESPN3 and can be viewed here.
Players Mentioned
