Kern, Meyer win titles on day two of 2018 MVC Outdoor Championships

Kern, Meyer win titles on day two of 2018 MVC Outdoor Championships

05/12/2018 | 10:08:00 | Track and Field

SIU's men are in third while Southern's women are in fifth after two days of competition at the conference meet.

Jared Kern broke his own conference record to capture the men's shot put title and Madison Meyer claimed SIU's first heptathlon title since 2011 to highlight day two of the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Indiana State.

Kern threw 66'-10.75" (20.39m) to win his second career MVC shot put title. His mark is not only broke his own school and conference records but it established a new MVC Championship meet record as well.

Meyer scored a personal-best 5203 points to win the MVC heptathlon title. The Carterville, Ill. native finished no worse than fifth in all seven events and either set or tied personal-bests in three events. It is the seventh heptathlon title in school history and the first since 2011.

Meyer began day two with a win in the long jump and followed with a runner-up performance in the javelin. She closed the day by scoring 701 points with a fifth place finish in the 800m to claim her first career MVC title.

Sticking with the multis, Matthew Bigelow scored a personal-best 6660 points in the decathlon to finish third and earn his second All-MVC honor of his career. The Carterville, Ill. product set PRs in five events and finished no worse than fifth in any of the 10 events.

Cain Hassim earned his first career trip to the medal stand after he cut more than 11 seconds off his previous personal-best in the 3000m steeplechase. Hassim ran a lifetime-best 9:10.05 to finish third. He was one of two Salukis to score in the event, as Chris Edwards finished sixth after he cut more than nine seconds off his previous-best time. Edwards ran 9:16.40 to score at his first MVC outdoor meet.

As a team, the Saluki men are currently in third place with 56 points. Indiana State is currently in first with 73 points while Northern Iowa is second with 70 points. Illinois State (44), Bradley (23), Drake (22), Loyola (16) and Valparaiso (8) round out the field.

The Saluki women, meanwhile, are in a log jam with 10 points currently the difference between fifth and third place. Southern is in fifth with 44 points, while Missouri State has 51 points and Indiana State sits in third with 54 points. The Northern Iowa Panthers are currently in second with 71.50 points, while Illinois State is in the lead with 98.50 points.

The Salukis scored key team points in several events Saturday.

Nikki Freeman, Sian Person and A'veun Moore-Jones all scored in the shot put. Freeman set a PR at 47-2.50" (14.39m) to take sixth, while Person finished seventh and Moore placed eighth.

Caleb Vogel scored in his second-straight MVC meet after he cleared 6'-6" to finish eighth in the high jump. On the women's side, Justine Paton set a PR at 5'-5.75" (1.67m) to finish fifth and add four points.

Megan Krolak and Kelly O'Shea both scored in the 3000m steeplechase. Krolak ran 10:56.84 to finish sixth while O'Shea set a slight PR at 11:00.48 to place eighth.

Southern also has plenty of opportunities to add to its point totals tomorrow, as several Salukis qualified for Sunday's finals in their respective events.

A pair of Saluki men qualified for the 110m hurdles finals. Theo Phipps and Kevin Turner both advanced as Phipps clocked a personal-best time of 14.44 to take third Saturday, while Turner ran 14.62 to finish fifth.

Mesha Newbold qualified for both the 100- and the 400-meter hurdles finals. Her time of 1:00.11 in the 400m hurdles is the seventh-fastest time in school history. Savannah Long joined Newbold in qualifying in the 400m hurdles. Long ran a lifetime-best 1:02.04 to take fifth and advance to her first final at a conference meet. It was the second personal-best of the day for the DeKalb, Ill. native, who also also set a PR in the 100m hurdles (14.30) to finish 10th.

For the second-straight season, two Salukis will advance to Sunday's women's 400m dash final. Shafiqua Maloney once again clocked the fastest prelim time at 54.54, while Genesis Ewell qualified for her first 400m final after she ran a lifetime-best 55.05.

Warren Hazel kicked off his 400m title defense with a season-best time of 46.72. Hazel won his heat and posted the fastest qualifying time Saturday as he looks to become just the sixth athlete in Valley history to win three outdoor quarter-mile titles.

Bri'Anna Branch and Tyjuana Eason will both run in Sunday's 100m dash final. Branch ran 11.63 to clock the second-best qualifying time while Eason ran 11.90 to advance. The duo will no doubt be busy on Championship Sunday- they both qualified for the 200m dash final on Friday and arel both slated to defend SIU's 4x100 relay title.

Luke Horton qualified for his sixth-straight 800m final. The Harrisburg, Ill. native will try to make the podium for the first time in his career tomorrow after he ran the second-fastest qualifying time (1:52.16). Horton also qualified for tomorrow's 1500m.

Sunday's action begins at 11:30 a.m. with the women's triple jump and discus. Live coverage of Sunday's final round begins at 12:55 p.m. on ESPN+.