Salukis Shine At Final Day of Don DeNoon Invite

Friday, January 24

Carbondale, Ill.

Southern Illinois University

Don DeNoon Invite

01/25/2020 | 7:30:00 | Track and Field

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By: Brandon Lindholm, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Coming off of a successful first day at the Don DeNoon Invitational, the Southern Illinois University Salukis collected five wins on the second day to close out the meet. Numerous student-athletes set personal-bests, as the program now shifts its focus to next week's prestigious Indiana Relays, hosted by the University of Indiana on Jan. 31 – Feb. 1.

"I thought the meet went really well," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Rosalind Joseph said. "We accomplished a lot and a it was great to hear the student-athletes talk about what they need to work on in taking the next step of their preparation for the rest of the season."

Weekend Winners
Athlete Name | Event | Mark
Alexis Roberson | Women's Weight Throw | 20.85 meters (68'-5")
Erin Diemer | Women's Pole Vault | 3.80 meters (12'-5.5")
Britney Mosby | Women's Triple Jump | 11.77 meters (38'-7.5")
Chris Edwards | Men's Mile | 4:17.22
Johnny McGluen | Men's 400 Meter | 49.44
Tyjuana Eason | Women's 60 Meter | 7.53
Tyjuana Eason | Women's 200 Meter | 25.02

The morning kicked off with the women's shot put, which saw junior Kayleigh Conlon take second with a season-best toss of 14.82 meters (48'-7.5"). Also competing in the event was Diamond Richardson, who entered the event unattached. Richardson threw for a personal-best 14.23 meters (46'-8.25") to take fourth. Sian Person took fifth in the event, Nikki Freeman took 10^th while BriYanna Robinson took 11^th.

On the men's side, Adam Kessler threw for the first time this season as an unattached participant and took second with a toss of 18.24 meters (59'-10.25"). Ricky Hurly also threw the shot put for the first time this year and took third place with his toss of 17.08 meters (56'-0.5"). Sophomore Peyton Taylor took fifth, while Jelle De Jong took seventh with a mark of 13.37 meters (43'-10.5") in his first collegiate event.

Willie Rodgers took second in the men's long jump with a mark of 6.88 meters (22'-7"), while also placing fourth in the high jump and eighth in the 60 meters. Erin Diemer won the women's pole vault with a personal-best mark of 3.80 meters (12'-5.5"), her second victory of the year in the event.

In the running events, Chris Edwards took first overall in the men's mile by clocking in a personal-best time of 4:17.22. He also later set a PR in the 800 meter with a time of 2:01.00, shaving nearly two seconds off his previous best. Johnny McGluen secured his the first of his two victories on the day in the 400 meter, beating teammate Corey Sherrod for the top spot by nearly half a second. Sherrod would later win the 200 meter dash and would help the 4x400 meter relay team of Terry Simuel, McGluen and James Croft secure first at the end of the meet.

Ty'juana Eason notched her second and third wins of the season, first in the 60 meter dash and next in the 200 meter. Devin Pringle PRd in the 60 meter dash with a mark of 6.86 seconds, in addition to securing his second victory of the season in the event. Savannah Long took second in the 60 meter hurdles, her highest finish of the season, in addition to recording a personal-best time of 8.84 seconds.

The success of the team sets the program up nicely for Its next meet, the Indiana Relays. Regarded as one of the prestigious events of Division I track and field, Joseph sees believes that the team she oversees is ready to go. "There's not a lot that needs to be addressed," said Joseph. "I think the pieces are in place and that everyone's working hard and progressing and doing what they need to do. Now, it's just on the coaches to start making sure they keep this level of success up."

"It's just always good when you can get the full team in the arena together," said Joseph. "Everyone is just getting a chance to see one another and support everyone involved in this team."

Click here to view the full results from the Don DeNoon Invite.

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