Salukis record three top-10 school marks on day two of Vanderbilt Invitational

Friday, January 19

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Southern Illinois University

Vanderbilt Invitational

Photo by: Will Becque

Salukis record three top-10 school marks on day two of Vanderbilt Invitational

01/20/2018 | 7:33:00 | Track and Field

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

Competing at their largest meet to date, the Saluki track and field team put up some impressive marks and three top-10 school marks to close out competition at the Vanderbilt Invitational.

The Salukis were one of 22 teams at a meet that showcased close to 700 athletes.

Ricky Hurley notched the ninth-best shot put toss in school history to finish third in the event Saturday. Hurley was one of three top-five finishes for the Salukis on day two. Adam Kessler took fourth behind Hurley in a men's shot put competition while Warren Hazel placed fourth in the 400m dash in his season debut in the event.

The Saluki 4x400 men's and women's relay teams each notched season-best times on what was their biggest stage to date. The Saluki men shaved nearly three seconds off their season-best time to finish seventh while the Saluki women clocked the fifth-fastest time in program history to also finish seventh.

Josh Maier made his season debut in the 3000m on Saturday and posted Southern's fourth top-10 school mark of the day to finish ninth out of 74. Maier ran 8:14.80, which was the fastest time by a Saluki in the event in close to seven years (2011).

More results are highlighted below by event. The Salukis will split up next weekend, as the sprinters and hurdlers head to the University of Iowa for the Black and Gold Premier while the rest of the team will go to Indiana University for the Gladstein Invitational.

Throws

The Saluki men's shot putters claimed four of the top-10 spots, led by a personal-best toss by Ricky Hurley. Hurley finished third on Saturday with the ninth-best mark in school history, as he threw 59'-5.75" (18.13m) to set a PR in the event for the second time in three meets this season. Adam Kessler was right behind Hurley in fourth with a toss of 58'-4.50" (17.79m) to take fourth while Sam Sikon set a lifetime-best by a foot with a toss of 57'-3.50" (17.46m) to place sixth. Jared Kern placed ninth to give Southern four in the top-10.
Volunteer assistant coach Josh Freeman won the event with a toss of 64'-10" (19.76m).
The Salukis continue to have the top-3 shot put marks in the Missouri Valley Conference this season with Hurley's PR on Sunday.
The Saluki women tallied three top-20 finishes in the circle on Saturday led by Nikki Freeman's 14th place finish. A'veun Moore-Jones finished 15th and Sian Person took 19th.

Sprints

Warren Hazel finished fourth in the 400m dash in his season debut in the event. Hazel clocked a time of 47.07 to .39 behind Auburn's Nathon Allen for first.

Jumps

Marcellus Fletcher continued to show steady improvement at the triple jump pit in his second meet as a Saluki. Fletcher jumped a season-best 47'-9" (14.55m) to finish 12th. Louis Dotson right behind Fletcher in 13th.

Distance

Josh Maier made his Saluki debut and added his name to SIU's record book in the process, as he clocked the eighth-best 3000m time in school history to finish in the top-10 on Saturday. Maier took ninth with a time of 8:14.80, which was SIU's best time in the event since 2011.
Cain Hassim also set a PR in the 3000m and finished in the top-20. Hassim took 19th with a time of 8:35.88, close to three seconds off of his previous best time.
Megan Krolak made her Saluki indoor debut in the 3000m Saturday. The redshirt sophomore finished the 3K in 10:08.84 to place 29th in a field of 74 runners.
Kelly O'Shea set a PR with a time of 10:23.02 to finish 44th while Claire Darnell cut more than 30 seconds off her previous best 3K time to finish 49th.

Relays

The women's 4x400 relay team of Alicia Reed, Tyjuana Eason, Chrissa Harris and Shafiqua Maloney finished seventh in a heavily contested race that featured 25 entrants. The Saluki quartet's time of 3:45.38 is the fifth-fastest time in school history and is the best time in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
The Saluki men's 4x400 relay team also posted a season-best time. The foursome of Johnny McGluen, Kevin Turner, Canoy Tyree and Warren Hazel ran 3:16.38 to finish seventh.