Trio of Seniors Win Titles on Day One of 2020 MVC Indoor T&F Championships

Trio of Seniors Win Titles on Day One of 2020 MVC Indoor T&F Championships

02/29/2020 | 9:15:00 | Track and Field

By: Brandon Lindholm, SIUSalukis.com

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Southern Illinois University Saluki track and field program saw three seniors be crowned conference champions in addition to advancing multiple individuals to event finals after day one of the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Madison Meyer got the day started for Southern with the pentathlon, where the Carterville, Ill. native took home title after winning the long jump and posting four top-three finishes to post a lifetime-best 3,907 points in the event. Meyer wins the event for the second-straight year and becomes only the third Saluki in program history to win the event at the conference meet in consecutive years. Meyer's 3,907 points are a new personal-best, while her time of 2:23.31 in the 800 also clocks in as a new personal-best. Meyer later would score points for the Salukis with her third-place finish in the long jump, posting a mark of 5.83 meters (19'-1.5").

Alexis Roberson followed Meyer's win with a title-winning performance in the women's weight throw. The Jefferson City, Mo. native won the event over fellow Saluki Emily Kern by over seven feet for Southern's 12^th title in the event in program history and its first since 2017. Roberson's wildly successful senior season paired with tonight's MVC winning toss makes her a near-lock to advance to the NCAA National Championships on Mar. 13-14.

Ricky Hurley took home the 2020 men's weight throw title after throwing for a season-best mark of 20.88 meters (66'-6.5"). Hurley took home gold after finishing third at last year's conference meet. The Fox River Grove, Ill. native bested his nearest competitor, UNI's Kyler Yodts, by less than three inches to take home the title. Hurley becomes the 16^th Saluki to win the conference title and the program's sixth-straight, dating back to 2015.

Tyjuana Eason ran the fastest qualifying time in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.47 seconds, following it up by placing second in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.76. The 2019 60 & 200 meter dash champion is seeking a repeat performance in tomorrow's finals. Sophomore Tredaja Harris also qualified for the 200 meter dash finals after clocking in at 25.26 seconds en route to placing fourth.

Trevor Thompson currently sits in sixth in the heptathlon with three events to go. The sophomore placed 11^th in the 60 meter dash after running for 7.65 seconds, followed by a personal-best performance in the long jump (6.24m). Thompson also set personal-bests with a toss of 11.32m (37-0.75") in the shot put and 1.96m (6'-5") in the high jump. Thompson stands just 32 points out of fifth and 455 points out of first.

Two Salukis are on to the finals in the men's 60 meter dash. Jaden Johnson ran the fifth-fastest time at 6.89 while Devin Pringle ran 6.92 to earn the seventh spot in tomorrow's final. Pringle also earned a seventh-place finish in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.25, qualifying the senior for tomorrow's finals.

In the men's 400 meter dash, Johnny McGluen took second overall after running for 49.32. Corey Sherrod earned an opportunity to score points in tomorrow's final after nabbing the third-place spot, while freshman Terry Simuel punched his ticket to Sunday's final with his seventh-place finish. On the women's side, Genesis Ewell qualified for the finals with her third-place finish of 57.15.

All four of the Saluki men that competed in the 60 meter hurdles are off to the finals. Solomon Wilson finished first in Saturday's prelims after running for a personal-best mark 7.98 to move up to fourth on SIU's all-time list. Theo Phipps finished in third at 8.12 while Jaylen Galloway took fifth with a new PR of 8.15, moving him up to seventh on SIU's top-10 list. Kyle Lind moved up to eighth in school history after setting a new PR with 8.22 en route to his sixth-place finish.

Grace McDurmon is moving on to the mile finals after running for a PR mark of 5:06.1 to come in ninth. In the 5K, Chris Edwards and Megan Krolak both scored for the Salukis as Edwards came in fifth after finishing with a new personal-best time of 14:47.49, while Krolak came in sixth after crossing the finish line in 17:26.47.

Erin Diemer closed out the day for the Salukis by scoring in the women's pole vault after clearing 3.48 meters (11'-5"), tying two others and trailing third by five inches.

The Saluki men are currently in seventh place with 16 points. Northern Iowa is in the lead with 40.5 points, followed by Illinois State (40), Indiana State (31.5), Bradley (23), Drake (21.5) and Loyola (21). SIU is currently ahead of eighth-place Valparaiso (1) and last-place Evansville (0.5) heading into the second day.

On the women's side, SIU is currently in second with 48 points, trailing only Illinois State (81.16) for first. Southern leads Northern Iowa (30.5), Indiana State (20.33), Loyola (17), Drake (12), Missouri State (10), Evansville (8), Bradley (6) and Valparaiso (1).

The second and final day of the MVC Indoor Championships gets underway tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. with the multis, followed by field events at 11 a.m. and track events at 1:25 p.m. Tomorrow's ESPN3 broadcast will begin at 1:25 p.m., while live results can be found at SIUSalukis.com.

Click here for view the results from day one.

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