Meyer, Kessler win titles on day one of the 2019 MVC Indoor T&F Championships

Meyer, Kessler win titles on day one of the 2019 MVC Indoor T&F Championships

02/23/2019 | 11:02:00 | Track and Field

Day 1 Results Photo Gallery (1)Photo Gallery (2)

SIU totaled six top-3 finishes and six Salukis earned eight entries in Sunday's finals.

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

Two Salukis were crowned champions and four others earned All-MVC honors with top-three finishes on day one of the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Madison Meyer got things started for the Salukis, as she won three of the five events of the pentathlon- and finished no worse than third in all five events- to bring home SIU's first MVC pentathlon title since 2012. Meyer scored a personal-best 3871 points after she notched three personal-bests and two season-bests, including her winning 60m hurdles time of 8.74, which is the 10th-best time in school history.

Adam Kessler followed with a win in the men's weight throw in what was only his second time this season throwing the weight. The 2018 MVC indoor shot put champion claimed his second career MVC title with a more than four-foot personal-best. In fact, four of Kessler's six throws were longer than his previous personal-best. His winning mark of 64'-7.25" is the 10th-best toss in school history and SIU has now won 11 of the past 14 MVC weight throw competitions.

Ricky Hurley earned his seventh trip to the MVC medal stand after he finished third in the weight throw with a season-best toss of 62'-4.50" (19.01m) while Nate Dyer added four team points with his fifth place finish to up SIU's total in the event to 20 points.

Erin Diemer earned her first All-MVC honor with a third place showing in the pole vault. Diemer cleared a personal-best 12'-2" (3.71m) without a miss to finish in a tie for third with Indiana State's Kim Jackson. It is just the second time that the Shelbyville, Ind. native has cleared 12-feet in competition.

The Saluki women scored 15 points on the strength of three top-eight finishes in the weight throw. Shauneice O'Neal threw a personal-best 67'-9" (20.66m) to place second. O'Neal uncorked the ninth-best toss in school history to earn her second All-MVC finish. Alexis Roberson was right behind O'Neal with her toss of 67'-5" (20.55m) to finish third and earn her first career All-MVC honor. It marked the eighth time this season that Roberson has thrown 67-plus feet.

Southern's men are currently in fourth with 25 points and are behind Bradley (31), Northern Iowa (31), Illinois State (28) but ahead of Indiana State (19), Loyola (16), Valparaiso (4) and Drake (2).

"I thought all of our student-athletes fought well today," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Rosalind Joseph said. "There were a lot of good surprises, which really helps with momentum in a meet like this. Top to bottom, our student-athletes are really showing up! But the key is to finish off tomorrow. So we will rest, recover and get ready for the final day."

Matthew Bigelow sits in fourth with two events to go in the heptathlon on the strength of a win in the 60m dash and a second place finish in the long jump. Bigelow's 60m dash time of 6.98 was a personal-best, while his long jump mark of 22'-6.25" (6.86m) was a season-best.

SIU's women are in third with 38.5 points. Indiana State (50) is in the lead, followed by Illinois State (48), Southern, Northern Iowa (30.5), Missouri State (23), Loyola (18), Bradley (16), Drake (6) and Valparaiso (4).

Outside of the finals that were contested, the Salukis had six student-athletes earn eight entries into the running finals that will be held Sunday.

The Saluki women qualified two in each of the three sprint events (60m, 200m, 400m), while Southern's men advanced one in the 800m.

Two Salukis are on to the finals in the women's 400m dash. Genesis Ewell clocked the third-fastest qualifying time at 56.99 while Savannah Long ran 58.22 to nab the eighth spot in tomorrow's final.

Tyjuana Eason ran the fastest-qualifying time in the 60m dash with a personal-best time of 7.45 while Bri'Anna Branch moved up to 4th on SIU's all-time list with her PR of 7.51. The two nearly duplicated that effort in the 200m dash, as Eason clocked the fastest qualifying time at 24.46 and Branch was right behind her with the second-fastest time at 24.67. Branch's time is not only a personal-best but is tied for the fifth-best time in school history.

Theo Phipps scored in the long jump with a personal-best jump of 23'-2" (7.02m) to place fifth. He has an opportunity to score in another event on Sunday, as he clocked a PR of 8.12 in the 60m hurdles to punch his ticket to Sunday's final. It marks the third time this season that he has set a PR in the event.

Canoy Tyree advanced on to Sunday's 800m final with the fifth-fastest qualifying time at 1:55.19. Tyree will compete for his second-straight MVC 800m title after he took eighth a year ago.

The final day of the MVC Indoor Championships gets underway tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. with the conclusion of the heptathlon competition. Tomorrow's ESPN3 broadcast begins at 1:15 p.m.

Other Notable Performances

Megan Krolak added four team points with a fifth place finish in the 5K.
The women's distance medley relay team of Grace McDurmon, Mckenzie Krich, Sydney Spranger and Madeline Hurt combined to run 12:44.09 to add a team point with an eighth place showing.
The men's distance medley relay team of Chris Edwards, Johnny McGluen, Brandon Schnitker and Michael Church also took eighth to add a team point to SIU's total.
Kira Williams scored three team points with a sixth place finish in the pentathlon. Williams set PRs in four of five events (60m hurdles, high jump, long jump and the 800m run) to score a personal-best 3341 points.
Emily Kern was the third Saluki to score in the weight throw. She set a PR in the event to finish eighth and score at a conference meet for the first time in her young career.
The Salukis notched five Top-10 school marks Saturday. Branch (60m dash/200m dash) led the way with two top-10 marks, while Meyer (60m hurdles), Kessler (weight throw) and O'Neal (weight throw) made their first entries on SIU's top-10 list. Diemer (pole vault), Phipps (60m hurdles), Eason (60m dash) each notched PRs in their respective events but did not move up on SIU's top-10 list.