Salukis win 12 event titles at Bill Cornell Spring Classic

Friday, March 23

TBA

Southern Illinois University

Bill Cornell Spring Classic

Photo by: Will Becque

03/24/2018 | 9:33:00 | Track and Field

Results

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois track & field tallied 12 first-place finishes at the fifth-annual Bill Cornell Spring Classic to open the 2018 outdoor season Saturday, March 24, at the Lew Hartzog Track & Field Complex.

On a day in which wet and cold weather presented a significant challenge for the 11 teams competing Saturday, Southern's success on the oval took center stage.

The Saluki women's sprinters won five of SIU's 11 event titles on Saturday, including a sweep of both the sprint and relay events. Tyjuana Eason (100m), Shafiqua Maloney (200m) and Alicia Reed (400m) each posted individual wins while Southern went 1-2 in the women's 4x100 and closed the evening with a victory in the 4x400 relay.

The Salukis went 1-2-3 in the women's 100m dash. Eason won the event with a time of 11.86, while Mystique Thompson ran 11.96 to take second and Bri'Anna Branch finished third with a time of 12.11. Maloney claimed a win in the 200m dash with a time of 24.84, while Alicia Reed won the 400m (58.15) at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic for the second-straight year.

The Saluki women claimed first and second place in the 4x100 relay. Southern's "B" relay team of Thompson, Maloney, Carinne Parker and Madison Meyer won with a time of 46.43 to edge out SIU's A team of Reed, Genesis Ewell, Eason and Branch. Ewell, Reed, Savannah Long and Maloney cruised to a win in the mile relay with a time of 3:45.05.

Southern's men also notched a victory in the 4x400 relay, as Johnny McGluen, Canoy Tyree, Luke Horton and Warren Hazel combined to run 3:17.24.

The Salukis tallied a pair of wins in the jumps, as Caleb Vogel (high jump) and Marcellus Fletcher (triple jump) each opened their respective outdoor seasons with wins.

Vogel won the high jump for the first time in his collegiate career. The DuQuion, Ill. native bested a field that included the 2017 MVC Indoor High Jump Champion Jaime Murtagh of Indiana State. Fletcher, meanwhile, won the triple jump with a mark of 47'-6.5" (14.49m).

Charlene Helton won her first collegiate event title with a more than 12-foot PR in the javelin. Helton threw 128'-6.75" (39.18m) in what was her season debut.

Ricky Hurley won the discus throw Friday night with a mark of 161'-6.75" (49.24m) while Kyle Kling was the runner-up in the event at 155'-9.50" (47.48m). Hurley followed with a PR in the hammer on Saturday to finish second in that event and later took third in the shot put.

Jared Kern threw 64'-2.50" (19.57m) to win the men's shot put. Kern was one five Salukis to finish in the top-6, as Adam Kessler threw 57'-8.25" (17.58m) to finish second while Hurley threw 57'-3.75" (17.47m) to place third. Kyle Kling took fifth and Sam Sikon finished sixth.
A'Veun Moore threw a personal-best 49'-5" (15.06m) to win the women's shot put and complete the sweep for the Salukis. SIU's women were similarly dominate in the event, as they claimed four of the top-five spots. Sian Person placed third, Kayleigh Conlon finished fourth and Nikki Freeman took fifth.

Josh Maier was also named the first-ever recipient of the Bill and Rose Cornell Endowed Scholarship during a special ceremony Saturday. Maier, flanked by Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Kathleen Raske and Athletic Director Tommy Bell, accepted the honor from Rose Cornell, Bill's wife of 55 years.

Congrats to @amaierica, who today was named the first recipient of the Bill and Rose Cornell Endowed Scholarship. Josh is a five-time all-conference honoree and a three-time recipient of the MVC's Elite 17 award. pic.twitter.com/xBG9eZ5maa
— Saluki Track (@SIU_TrackXC) March 24, 2018