Salukis set to compete at 2018 Hilltopper Relays

Friday, April 6

Bowling Green, KY

TBA

Southern Illinois University

Hilltopper Relays

Photo by: Will Becque

04/05/2018 | 1:10:00 | Track and Field

2018 Performance List Hilltopper Relays Info Meet Schedule

The previously scheduled two-day meet will now take place on Friday, April 6.

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

The Southern Illinois track and field team will head to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the Hilltopper Relays, hosted by Western Kentucky. The meet, which was originally scheduled to be a two-day event, will now just be Friday, April 6 due to inclement weather in the forecast.

Sun shine brings fast times

The Salukis notched 26 personal-bests at the Mondo Team Challenge on March 31. Alex Martel, Mesha Newbold, Shauneice O'Neal, Matthew Bigelow and Johnny McGluen all set PRs in multiple events. Martel set lifetime-bests in both the 800m and the 1500m on Saturday, which included the eighth-fastest 800m time in school history at 2:11.64. Newbold set personal-bests in both the 100m- and the 400m hurdles while both of O'Neal's PRs came in the circle. Throwing outdoors for the second-time in her collegiate career, O'Neal notched a more than 18 foot improvement in the discus at 156'-1" (47.58m) and a more than 13 foot PR in the hammer throw at 190'-4" (58.02m) to finish second in both events. Bigelow, meanwhile, clocked the second-fastest 100m time by a Saluki this season at 10.88 and later jumped 22'-9.75" (6.95m) to finish sixth in the long jump. McGluen set PRs in both the 200m and the 400m dashes, as he ran 21.95 in the 200m and 48.85 in the 400m.

Top-10 School Marks

Southern Illinois thrower Ricky Hurley ranks in the top-50 in the NCAA West Region in three throwing disciplines. The four-time all-conference honoree ranks 13th in the west region in the shot put, 15th in the hammer throw and 46th in the discus. Hurley is joined by North Dakota's Steffan Stroh as the only two athletes in the NCAA West Region to currently rank in the top-50 of three throwing disciplines.

Qualifying Standard for 2018 USATF Junior Championships

Shauneice O'Neal had a big day in the ring for the Salukis at the Mondo Team Challenge, as she tallied a pair of PRs to finish second in both the hammer and the discus. Her mark in the hammer throw of 190'-4" (58.02m) was not only the second-best toss in the MVC but it is also well past the USATF Junior Outdoor Championship qualifying standard of 177'-2" (54m). The Florissant, Mo. native just missed qualifying in the discus as well, as her toss of 156'-1" (47.58m) was just a foot and four inches short of the qualifying standard of 157'-5" (48m).

Separating from the pack

The Saluki distance runners tallied eight of SIU's 26 personal-bests at the Mondo Team Challenge, led by Alex Martel's PRs in the 800m and the 1500m. Martel was one of three Salukis to record a personal-best in the 800m, as Canoy Tyree won his first collegiate event title in the event after he clocked the fastest time in the MVC at 1:51.86. Anthony Newbern also set a PR in the event at 1:54.40, while Claire Darnell cut more than five seconds off of her previous best 1500m time. All three Salukis, Kelly O'Shea, Christopher Edwards and Cain Hassim, tallied lifetime-bests in the 3000m steeplechase, which included O'Shea's time which was the sixth-best in the event in program history.

Making an early impact

Canoy Tyree is one of five freshmen to currently lead the Missouri Valley Conference in an event. Tyree, who leads the Valley in the 800m, is joined by Drake's Kundai Maguranyanga (200m) and Jake Taylor (javelin) and Illinois State's Ryan Ashenbremer (pole vault) and Kameesha Smith (high jump).

Back atop the leaderboard

The Salukis are once again looking to sweep the relay events at the MVC outdoor meet in May, as Southern's women's relay teams clocked the fastest times in the MVC in their respective events at the Mondo Team Challenge. The last time that a Valley school swept the women's relay events in consecutive seasons was 2002, when Missouri State completed their fifth-straight sweep of the women's 4x100 and 4x400 relay titles. It would mark the first time that Southern has swept the relay titles at consecutive conference meets since 1989.

Maintaining her lead

Charlene Helton maintained her conference lead in the javelin with a slight PR of 129'-8" (39.53m) at the Mondo Team Challenge. The Carrollton, Ill. native is seeking SIU's first MVC javelin title since 2005 when Megan Cenkush won with a mark of 143'-11".

Leading the Valley

Ricky Hurley tallied three top-3 finishes and a pair of top-10 school marks at the Mondo Team Challenge to earn MVC Men's Field Athlete of the Week honors for the second time this season.