Southern Illinoise University Athletics
2018 Track and Field Season Preview
12/22/2017 | 1:30:00 | Track and Field
The Salukis return 28 letterwinners who scored at a conference meet a year ago.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois track and field team got its season underway with the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 9. The Salukis, under the direction of third-year Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Kathleen Raske, return 28 letter winners who scored at a Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet a year ago, including 11 who won a MVC title. Coach Raske recently previewed each event group in anticipation for the remainder of the 2018 season. The Salukis are back in action on Sat., January 13 at the Illini Classic.
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Returners: Tyjuana Eason, Genesis Ewell, Chrissa Harris, Shafiqua Maloney, Alicia Reed, Mystique Thompson, Bri'Anna Branch
Newcomers: Carinne Parker
Overview
The Salukis return all six of their sprinters who helped SIU sweep the MVC relay titles for the first time since 1989 during last year's conference outdoor meet. Southern's 4x100 relay team of Mystique Thompson, Shafiqua Maloney, Tyjuana Eason and Bri'Anna Branch broke the MVC Outdoor Championship meet record of 44.71, set by Indiana State in 2015, with their conference-winning time of 44.30. The Salukis continually improved upon their personal-best time throughout the season, as they bettered their mark at five meets during the outdoor season. Genesis Ewell and Alicia Reed, who teamed up with Thompson and Maloney to win gold in the 4x400 at the MVC outdoor meet, are also back, as is Chrissa Harris, who missed all of last season with an injury. Harris is coming off a junior campaign in which she won the 400 at the Valley outdoor meet and became the first Saluki woman to qualify for the outdoor national meet in a track event since 2006.
Coach Raske's Take
"Our top returning event area on the women's side is our sprinters. It's exciting that we will have such an experienced group. I fully anticipate that they will take care of their business this year. We obviously need to defend our titles at the conference championships, but more importantly, look beyond that. This group, is by far, the strongest group, and their development, thus far, has been great. We return all four of our MVC Outdoor Champion 4x400 relay team, and when you add Chrissa in there, its only going to strengthen us. Chrissa has experience at the national level, so we look for her to return to full strength and, as a captain, lead this group."
Returners: Warren Hazel, Ryan Mayberry
Newcomers: BJ Croft, Johnny McGluen, Alonzo Taylor-Jones
Overview
The Salukis will lean heavily on redshirt senior Warren Hazel, who returns for his final season after he qualified for both national meets in the 400. Hazel also defended his MVC outdoor 400 title and competed for St. Kitts and Nevis at the IAAF World Championships over the summer. Ryan Mayberry, who scored in the 200 with a fifth-place finish at the conference indoor meet, will begin the season on injured reserve but will be looked upon as a veteran presence.
Raske hopes a trio of newcomers - BJ Croft, Johnny McGluen and Alonzo Taylor-Jones- have major impacts this season. Croft won a Missouri state title in the 4x400 at Hazelwood West while McGluen won Tennessee state titles in the 4x200 and the 4x400. Taylor-Jones was two-sport star at Metea Valley High School who notched the best finish at the state meet in school history in the 4x100 as a senior. The trio put their potential on display at the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 9, as Taylor-Jones ran a sub-7 second 60-meter in his first race as a Saluki at 6.93, while McGluen won the 200, 400 and helped SIU to a win in the 4x400.
Coach Raske's Take
"With an early season injury keeping Ryan Mayberry from competing, we are really looking for our freshmen sprinters to step up. Johnny McGluen, James Croft and Alonzo Taylor-Jones will be looked upon to shoulder the load, while we are once again hoping for a good year from Warren."
Returners: Savannah Long, Kilee Hagerstrand
Newcomers: Jewell Bolden, Mesha Newbold
Overview
The Salukis will lean on Hagerstrand to lead a talented hurdler group. Hagerstrand opened her 2018 season with a lifetime-best time of 8.63 in the 60m hurdles, which is the sixth-fastest time in school history. Savannah Long returns for her sophomore season after she competed in the hurdles at both MVC meets last season, while newcomer Jewell Bolden won four Kansas state titles in the hurdles and figures to push both Hagerstrand and Long throughout the season. Mesha Newbold, a five-time NJCAA All-American at Iowa Central Community College, will join the Salukis in January and has international experience having competed for the Bahamas.
Coach Raske's Take
"Kilee is looking awesome and we expect some big things out of her. We are also looking for an immediate impact from Jewell and then improvements in the 400 hurdles from Savannah. We also have a mid-year transfer in Mesha Newbold who will be looked upon to step right in in both the short and long hurdles when she arrives in January."
Returners: David Rials, Nkabila Mwakyoma
Newcomers: Kevin Turner, Theo Phipps
Overview
After a season in which the Saluki men failed to score in the hurdles at either conference meet, Coach Raske and her staff signed a pair of talented hurdlers in junior college transfer Kevin Turner and multi-talented freshman Theo Phipps. Turner was a two-time NJCAA All-American in the hurdles at Barton Community College who cracked the top-10 in school history in the 60m hurdles in his Saluki debut. Turner posted the eighth-fastest time in school history, 8.34, at the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 9. Phipps qualified for the 2017 IHSA state meet in complementary events, the 110-hurdles and the long jump, and will compete in both events for Southern. Phipps competed unattached at the Saluki Fast Start and was right behind Turner, as he ran 8.44 to finish second and record the 11th-best time in school history. A pair of returners will push Turner and Phipps in Nkabila Mwakyoma and David Rials. Mwakyoma set a PR in the 60-hurdles at the Saluki Fast Start while Rials ran a leg of the 4x400 relay at the meet.
Coach Raske's Take
"Kevin Turner, a junior college transfer from Barton Community College, will step in as our top male hurdler. We also brought in Theo Phipps, who has showed a lot of promise already. We are also looking for development from our sophomores and redshirt freshmen such as Nkabila and David Rials."
Returners: Alex Martel, Luca Palasti, Claire Darnell, Shannon Effron, Natalia Hajduk, Megan Krolak, Sasha Lanning, Hillary Merrill, Kelly O'Shea
Newcomers: Megan Krolak, Sydney Spranger, Amber Ruiz-Bueno, Erin Levon, Olivia Murphy
The women's distance group should be really strong, with eight returning runners and five newcomers. Claire Darnell is coming off a breakthrough cross country season in which she was SIU's top-finisher at the MVC Championships. Seniors Hillary Merrill and Kelly O'Shea also return, as Merrill competed at both MVC meets last season while O'Shea scored in the 3000-steeplechase and recorded the sixth-best mark in school history in the event. Two Salukis who have scored in mid-distance events are also back in Luca Palasti and Alex Martel. Palasti scored in the 800 at the MVC indoor meet last season while Martel finished fifth in the 800 at the 2016 MVC Indoor Championships.
The Salukis have a skilled group of newcomers led by Megan Krolak. Krolak will make her debut on the track and is expected to lead the pack along with Darnell. Amber Ruiz-Bueno was a four-time NJCAA All-American at Cuyahoga Community College who will jump right into the mix in the mid-distances while Sydney Spranger, Erin Levon and Olivia Murphy will provide much needed depth.
Coach Raske's Take
"Mid-distance on the women's side should be really strong. We have Luca returning and Amber is a JUCO transfer that we expect great things from. Alex Martel is someone we also have high expectations for. In the longer distances, we saw Kelly O'Shea's versatility in the steeple last year and she has the potential to have an impact during the indoor season in both the mile and the 3K. We are also excited to get Megan Krolak out on the track. We plan to see her what she can do in the mile, the 3K and the 5K over the course of the year and I also think Megan could run the steeple, but we are going to explore and see. She's just a really versatile distance runner who is mentally tough as nails. Claire Darnell is another runner who had a tremendous cross country season that we are counting on to continue her breakthrough year."
Returners: Luke Horton, Gavin Hartley, Kyle Carter, Cain Hassim, Josh Maier, Chris Edwards, Jonathon Vara
Newcomers: Tony Newbern, Michael Church, Theo Hassim, Jacob DeWitt, Canoy Tyree
Overview
The Salukis return a strong distance crew led by Luke Horton. Horton scored in the 800 during both MVC meets. Cain Hassim also returns after he finished seventh in the 3000m-steeplechase at last season's MVC outdoor meet while Kyle Carter and Jonathon Vara are back for their final seasons and will be looked upon to push the pace and provide veteran leadership. Southern also has a skilled group of newcomers set to run on the oval for the first time as Salukis. Tony Newbern, a redshirt freshmen, was part of Avon (Ind.) High School's 4x800 relay team that finished second at the 2015 IHSAA State meet. Canoy Tyree won a North Carolina state title in the 4x400 as a senior while Michael Church was a three-time state qualifier in the 1600m at East Peoria High School. Theo Hassim qualified for the OFSAA Track and Field Championships in three events while DeWitt was a two-time state qualifier at McHenry (Ill.) High School.
Coach Raske's Take
"The men's 800 is going to be stacked with Luke Horton leading the way. We are looking for a great senior season season from Luke and are already seeing great improvements from Kyle Carter, Tony Newbern and Gavin Hartley. We are really going to be counting on all of our newcomers, like Michael Church, Jacob DeWitt, Canoy Tyree and Theo Hassim. We also hope Chris Edwards can step up and have a super sophomore year."
Returners: Kezia Martin, Kilee Hagerstrand, Madison Meyer, Emani James
Newcomers: Lauren Feagans, Justine Paton, Tamar Mosby, Jewell Bolden
Overview
This season marks the final one for Kezia Martin, a two-time MVC Champion in the triple jump. She won the MVC indoor triple jump crown and followed with a third place finish in the event during the outdoor season.
She anchors a mix of upperclassmen and several newcomers. Martin, Kilee Hagerstrand, Madison Meyer and Emani James all scored at the mvc outdoor meet, with both Hagerstrand and Meyer scoring in the heptathlon. James took ninth in the triple jump at the mvc indoor meet and went on to finish sixth in the triple during outdoor season.
The Salukis have several new faces who figure to help out immensely in the jumps. SIU hasn't had a high jumper score at a conference meet since 2015, and both Tamar Mosby and Justine Paton have the potential to end that streak. Mosby, a transfer from Drake University, finished fourth in the event at the 2017 MVC Indoor Championships, while Paton was a two-time NJCAA All-American high jumper at Johnson County Community College. Jewell Bolden, a three-time Kansas state champion in the long jump, will have an immediate impact in the board jumps, while Ashanna Hodge, who only has indoor eligibility remaining, will try her hand at the jumps.
Coach Raske's Take
"The women's jumps are going to be really strong with a healthy Kezia, Kilee, Madison and Emani. I think we will have some really great performances there. Justine and Tamar both have some great PRs and they are really developing for the first time in their careers. It's exciting to see what they are going to do. We are also excited about Jewell and we are counting on all three newcomers to make an immediate impact. Madison is expected to make even bigger contributions in the multis as well the jumps, as she continues to develop."
Returners: Mitchell Bland, Louis Dotson
Newcomers: Theo Phipps, Caleb Vogel, Marcellus Fletcher
Overview
The men's jumps lost arguably one of the best in SIU history in Kyle Landon, but the returning group possesses both talent and depth. Mitchell Bland, a transfer from Sacramento State, has talent in all three jumps but injuries seem to crop up at inopportune times for him. As a freshman at Sacramento State, Bland scored in all three jumps at the 2015 Big Sky Championships and, as a sophomore, took fifth in the triple jump at the 2016 MVC Outdoor Championships. Louis Dotson, who scored points at the 2016 MVC indoor meet by finishing fourth in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump, returns after redshirting last season.
The Salukis also added a trio of talented jumpers in Marcellus Fletcher, Theo Phipps and Caleb Vogel. Fletcher is a sophomore transfer from the University of Tennessee who was ranked No. 1 nationally in the boys triple jump while a senior at William Byrd H.S., where he was an All-American with a triple jump mark of 51'-1". He also posted a long jump mark of 24'-2" and a personal-best time of 14.40 in the 110m hurdles. In all, Fletcher racked up 10 state indoor and outdoor titles in the jumps. Phipps, meanwhile, was a two-time Illinois state qualifier in the long jump and will compete on both the boards and the oval for Southern this season. Vogel, meanwhile, is a two-time state medalist in the high jump who will also try his hand at the triple jump.
Coach Raske's Take
"We have a healthy Mitchell Bland for the first time. I think he's really going to have a huge year and we are counting on him to get it done in all three jumps. We are also expecting a big year out of Louis Dotson in both the long and triple jumps as it is his senior season and we hope he leaves it all out there. Marcellus Fletcher was one of the top triple jumpers in the nation and we are excited to see him return to form as a Saluki.Theo Phipps is also a pretty good long jumper, so we will look at having him get in there as well as Caleb Vogel in the high jump and potentially the triple jump."
Returners:
Newcomers: Erin Diemer
Overview
The women's squad lacks depth in this discipline after losing Katie Trupp, Cara Engel, Kacy Murphy and Katelyn Brown to graduation. All four scored in the event during their careers, including Engel, who won SIU's second-ever MVC pole vault title during indoor season a year ago. Newcomer Erin Diemer comes to Southern after she was a four-time Indiana state qualifier in the pole vault. Diemer cleared 11'-8" as a senior at Shelbyville High School and she will look to hit the ground running at SIU.
Coach Raske's Take
"Erin is our only female vaulter and she will jump right into action. She's really aggressive and fast on the runway so it's a matter of getting that to translate into cleared bars."
Returners: Chase Black, Jacob Wells
Newcomer: Kyle Zeinemann
Overview
With the loss of a pair of conference champions in Chad Weaver and Nathan Schuck, the Saluki pole vaulters will look to a veteran to provide leadership for two relative newcomers. Senior co-captain Chase Black is a two-time conference scorer in the pole vault and recently recorded a lifetime-best clearance to win his first collegiate event title at the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 9. Jacob Wells has a year of experience under his belt and will be looked upon to help Southern score additional points in the pole vault. SIU has had a least two score at the conference meet in each of the past three seasons (three indoor, three outdoor) and average a robust 16.75 points per meet in the event.
Coach Raske's Take
"We will look to our senior captain Chase Black to step into his role as a veteran and lead the way in the pole vault. We also have Jacob Wells back after a solid freshman season and we added Kyle Zeinemann."
Returners: Nikki Freeman, Sian Person, Alexis Roberson
Newcomers: A'veun Moore-Jones, Shauniece O'Neal, Kayleigh Conlon
Overview
Despite the loss of all-American Freya Block, the Salukis are loaded with young talent. SIU has three returning sophomores and three newcomers who all have the potential to score at the conference meets this season. The second-year trio is led by Nikki Freeman, who scored in the discus and the hammer throw a year ago and went on to compete in the shot put and hammer throw at the USATF Junior Championships. Alexis Roberson just missed scoring in two events at her first MVC outdoor meet, as she took seventh in the discus and ninth in the shot. Sian Person scored in the shot put at the MVC indoor meet and recently set PRs in both the shot and the weight at the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 9.
The Saluki first-years have the potential to score right away led by Kayleigh Conlon. Conlon was a three-time Arizona state champion in the shot put and the discus who ended her prep career at Mountain Pointe H.S. with the sixth-longest shot put heave in state history. A'veun Moore-Jones graduated from Mount Vernon High School as the most decorated female thrower in program history with four top-five finishes at the Illinois state meet while Shauniece O'Neal was a four-time Missouri state qualifier in the shot put and discus at Hazelwood Central.
Coach Raske's Take
"Alexis, Nikki and Sian all set PRs at the Saluki Fast Start, so early indications are that our young women's throwers are going to have a "super sophomore" year and make significant improvements. We also expect Kayleigh Conlon, A'Veun Moore-Jones and Shauniece O'Neal to immediately impact our program."
Returners: Jared Kern, Nate Dyer, Isaac Ingram, Kyle Kling, Ricky Hurley
Newcomers: Adam Kessler, Sam Sikon
Overview
Kern and Ingram anchor an experienced group of throwers who hope to not only produce on the MVC stage but also the national stage. The Salukis finished the 2017 outdoor season ranked No. 6 nationally in the men's shot put with an average toss of 57'-2.75" and Kern was a big reason why. The Machesney Park, Ill. native enjoyed a junior season in which he won the MVC indoor title in the shot put by breaking a 34-year old meet record and went on to finish fourth in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Ingram, meanwhile, has one indoor season of eligibility left and the two-time MVC champion will look to add an elusive trip to the national meet to his resume. Last season, Ingram became just the fifth Saluki to win MVC titles in the hammer and the weight in the same season.
Ricky Hurley returns after a breakout sophomore season in which he scored in all three throws at the 2017 MVC Outdoor Championships, including a pair of All-MVC finishes in the discus and hammer throw. The Fox River Grove, Ill. native also scored in the shot put at the Valley indoor meet and got his 2018 season off to a great start by setting PRs in both the weight and the shot put at the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 9. Kyle Kling is back after a junior outdoor season in which he cracked SIU's top-10 all-time in both the shot put and the discus, while Nate Dyer will provide additional depth in the circle after he missed all of last season with an injury. Dyer finished fifth in the hammer throw as a junior at the 2016 MVC Outdoor Championships.
Throws coach J.C. Lambert also added a pair of talented newcomers in Adam Kessler and Sam Sikon. Kessler comes to SIU by way of Eastern Illinois, where he won the indoor and outdoor Ohio Valley Conference shot put titles as a sophomore while Sikon was a five-time Illinois state champion at Carbondale Community H.S. who never finished lower than fourth in either the shot or the discus at the state meet.
Coach Raske's Take
"Isaac Ingram has one more indoor season remaining so we expect him to make this his best season yet and advance to the national championships. We anticipate a repeat performance of last season from Jared, and are hopeful that we can get Kyle and/or Ricky to advance as well to the national meet. We expect to see great things from Sam Sikon and from transfer Adam Kessler as well. We have a lot of depth in the men's throws and are hopeful that it will translate to even more points, especially during outdoor season when we pick up the javelin, discus and the hammer."
Returners: Charlene Helton, Kilee Hagerstrand
Newcomer: Emma Sexton, Caroline Taty
Overview
The Salukis will have an opportunity to score significant points in the javelin come outdoor season, as Wichita State had won four-straight MVC javelin titles before leaving for the American Athletic Conference this past summer. Much like with their domination on the men's side, the Shockers had placed at least four athletes in the top-8 of the event in each of the past five seasons and averaged 26.6 points at those five conference meets, including 31 out of 39 possible points at the 2014 meet. Kilee Hagerstrand almost became the first Saluki to score in the javelin since 2015 a year ago with her ninth place finish, and isn't far off from recording a top-10 school mark in the event. Charlene Helton is also back after a season in which she finished in the top-five of the javelin at four meets. Hagerstrand and Helton will be joined by newcomer Emma Sexton, who threw the javelin for the first time as a senior at Troy Buchanan High School and broke the school record at her fourth meet.
Coach Raske's Take
"Kilee was ninth in the javelin last year at the MVC meet and we look for her to continue to improve in the event and after seeing Charlene throw this fall, we fully anticipate her to have a big impact as well. It will be intriguing to see what kind of impact Emma can have during her freshman season, as she came to us with a lot of untapped potential."
Returners: Issiac Wingerter, Mitchell Bland
Newcomer: Caleb Vogel
Overview
The Salukis will look to claim a chunk of the points that Wichita State vacated when it left for the American Athletic Conference this past summer. The Shockers were particularly dominate in the event during recent years, as they scored 32 points in the javelin at back-to-back MVC Outdoor Championships and averaged 25.6 points in the event over the past five outdoor championships. SIU will look to build upon last season's success in the event that saw Kyle Landon become the first Saluki to score in the javelin since 2010 with his seventh-place finish. He did so despite having never thrown the javelin during competition before the Valley Championships. Issiac Wingerter placed ninth at the event and will be the most experienced of SIU's throwers this season. Mitchell Bland will throw the javelin for the first time in his career, as will freshman Caleb Vogel, who played quarterback at Du Quion High School.
Coach Raske's Take
"Mitchell is all about throwing the javelin, as he's working on scoring some points for this team while Isaac was close to scoring at last year's meet so we anticipate good things from him. Caleb will also throw, and as a former high school quarterback, we think that experience will translate well to the javelin."
Players Mentioned
