Salukis set to compete at the John Gartland Team Invitational on Saturday

The Southern Illinois track and field team will head to Terre Haute, Ind. for the John Gartland Team Invitational, hosted by Indiana State. SIU is one of six women's teams and one of five men's teams set to compete at the one-day meet on Saturday, Jan. 19.

John Gartland Team Invitational: Surveying the field

The John Gartland Team Invitational pits six women's teams and five men's teams against one another in a team scored event with the top-8 finishers scoring. Indiana State, DePaul, Valparaiso, Western Illinois and SIU will compete for both the men's and women's team titles, while Missouri State will compete on just the women's side. Southern is sending 50 student-athletes (28 women/22 men) to the meet, which gets underway Saturday beginning with the women's weight throw, women's long jump, men's pole vault and men's high jump at 12 p.m. Running events begin at 12:30 p.m. starting with the men's 60m hurdles. The final event of the meet, the men's 5K, is scheduled for 4:55 p.m. Each team is allowed to enter four participants in each event and Southern has at least one competitor entered in 31 of the meet's 32 events.

Comments from the Director

Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Rosalind Joseph on what she learned about her team at last weekend's Jim Green Invitational.
"Being at a large meet with a lot of teams like last weekend helped me to see how our student-athletes compete and how they handle a large meet environment. Not just in terms of the teams we were competing against, but even the size of the meet. Being able to get on an oversized indoor track with 20+ teams requires a different preparation on meet day. I thought everyone gave their best efforts and responded really well to the atmosphere."

Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Rosalind Joseph on how this meet better prepares the Salukis for the MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
"I'm really excited and looking forward to seeing some teams in the conference for the very first time. Many of our athletes know what to expect coming off of last year, but honestly half of our coaching staff does not. So to be able to be in a meet with our conference competitors early on will help with preparation going into MVC championships down the road."

Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Rosalind Joseph on which student-athletes will compete in what events on Saturday.
"Again, we have different athletes and different groups working on different things. I certainly want to always show well at meets, but also know that preparation at these meets is key to championship season. So some will be in entered in "off" events, some will do multiple events, some will not do every event they did last weekend. It's really just about the event coaches' perspective on that individual and what they need to do to be ready by championship season."

Making their indoor collegiate debuts

Several Salukis will make their indoor collegiate debuts at the John Gartland Team Invitational. Peyton Taylor, a six-time state qualifier from Mount Pulaski H.S., will make throw the weight throw and the shot put in his Saluki debut. Many of SIU's distance runners will also debut at Indiana State this weekend including Madeline Hurt, Grace McDurmon and Sydney Matusik in the one-mile run. All three will compete for the first time since the MVC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27 and the trio will later team up with Madison Meyer to run the distance medley relay. Kayla Schiera, who was the second Saluki woman to cross the finish line at the 2018 MVC Cross Country Championships, is one of five competitors entered into the indoor 5K. On the men's side, Reid Parsons will also make his indoor debut alongside teammate Jacob Dewitt in the 5K. Meanwhile, Thurneisha Keys will also compete for the first time as a Saluki and is slated to run the 400m dash as well as a leg of the 4x400 relay.

Multis in new events

Three Saluki multi-eventers will compete in events for the first time this season. Willie Rodgers, who has ran the 60m dash and competed in both the high and triple jumps this season, will compete in the long jump for the first time in the Maroon and White. Trevor Thompson will compete in the 60m hurdles for the first time as a Saluki while Issiac Wingerter will make his season-debut in the pole vault.

10 PRs at Jim Green Invitational

Southern notched 10 personal-bests at last weekend's Jim Green Invitational, led by Johnny McGluen and Matthew Bigelow. McGluen set a pair of collegiate-bests in the 200m and 400m dashes, as he ran 49.04 to finish ninth in the 400m and later ran 22.04 in the 200m dash to finish 10th. Bigelow added a pair of personal-bests to go along with a season-best finish in the 60m dash. Bigelow cleared a personal best 6'-2.75" (1.90m) in the high jump and PR'd in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.60. He later clocked a season-best time (7.13) in the 60-meter dash.

Leading the Valley

The Salukis have a pair of athletes ranked in the top-15 nationally in their respective events. Adam Kessler moved up to No. 6 in the NCAA in the shot put with his personal-best heave at the Jim Green Invitational, while Alexis Roberson's weight throw mark from the Saluki Fast Start is the 13th-best toss in the nation thus far this season.

Event (Mark) | Athlete | Rank
Shot Put (62'-11.50" /19.19m) | Adam Kessler | 6th
Weight Throw (67'-6.75"/20.59m) | Alexis Roberson | 13th

Athlete of the Week
Adam Kessler became the second Saluki in as many meets to take home MVC Athlete of the Week honors. Kessler threw 62'-11.50"(19.19m) to finish third in the shot put at the Jim Green Invitational and, in doing so, moved up to No. 3 on SIU's all-time list. Kessler's lifetime-best toss currently puts him in first in the Missouri Valley Conference, and ranks him sixth nationally, in the event.

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