Salukis win team titles at Don DeNoon Invitational

Friday, February 3

Carbondale, Ill.

All Day

Southern Illinois University

Don DeNoon Invite

02/04/2017 | 8:28:00 | Track and Field

Both SIU’s men and women won their respective team titles Saturday.

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois men's and women's track and field teams won six more events Saturday to claim the team titles at the Don DeNoon Invitational inside the SIU Recreation Center.

The Saluki men scored 127 points to win their first team title of the season. Southern finished ahead of Memphis (90), Central Arkansas (53), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (35), UT Martin (27), SIUE (26), Arkansas State (24), Western Illinois (16), SEMO (10) and Lipscomb (4).

The Saluki women won by an even greater margin, as they tallied 140 points, with Murray State finishing second with 86.6 points. Memphis finished third with 61 points, while Arkansas State (34) and SIUE (26) rounded out the top-five.

Tyjuana Eason claimed first in the 200m and finished third in the 60m Saturday. It marks the second win of the season for Eason, who also won the 200m at SIU's other home meet, the Saluki Fast Start. The Kankakee, Ill. native is ranked No. 2 in the Valley in the 200m.

Not to be outdone, Mystique Thompson mirrored Eason's performance, as she won the 60m and finished third in the 200m. Thompson posted her fastest 60m time of the season, as she ran 7.52 Saturday to move up to No. 2 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

In the men's 200m, Ryan Mayberry ran a lifetime-best 21.97 to win for the first time in his collegiate career. Mayberry's mark is tied for the eighth-fastest time in school history.

Sticking with the sprints, Shafiqua Maloney won the 400m to also post her first collegiate victory. Maloney beat out a field of 36 runners with a personal-best time of 57.17. Three other Salukis scored in the race as Alicia Reed placed third while Luca-Anna Palasti took sixth and Tyra Wooten finished seventh.

Kyle Landon cleared 7'-1.75" (2.18m) on his third attempt to win the high jump. It marks the third-straight win for Landon, who is currently ranked No. 5 in the NCAA. Austin Weigle added to SIU's point total with a third place finish in the event after he cleared a personal-best 6'-9" (2.06m).

Other notable performances included Kilee Hagerstrand's second place finish in the 60m hurdles, Kezia Martin's runner-up finish in the triple jump and Southern claiming three of the top-5 spots in the men's shot put.

The Salukis will next travel to Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 10 to compete at the two-day Music City Classic, hosted by Vanderbilt University.