Trio of Salukis Win Events on First Day of the MVC Championships

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Led by a trio of seniors, the Southern Illinois University track and field program claimed three individual titles on the first day of the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships at the Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex.

Following today's events, the Saluki women are in second place with 37 team points. Illinois State leads the eight-team field with 43 points, while the Loyola Ramblers are in third. On the men's side, the Salukis are in fourth with 15 points, while Illinois State holds the lead with 51.33 points, followed by Northern Iowa and Drake in second and third, respectively.

Southern Illinois' first two medalists of the day came by way of the hammer throw, where seniors Shauniece O'Neal and Ricky Hurley each took home the gold medal. Hurley won the event for the third-straight time in his career, becoming just the second Saluki in program history to accomplish the feat (J.C. Lambert, 2010-13). Hurley's winning mark of 67.94m (222-10.75) came on his fifth attempt and traveled nine feet further than his closest competitor. O'Neal took home the title for the first time in her career and became the first to do so on the women's side since Freya Block in 2017. Her winning mark of 66.51m (218-2.5) came on her second attempt and was nearly 16 feet further than her closest competitor.

Erin Diemer was the third and final Saluki to win an individual title on the first day of the meet, as the senior won the pole vault with a clearance of 3.95m (12-11.5), narrowly beating Illinois State's Nicole Bagwell by four inches. With the win, Diemer becomes the first Saluki in program history to win the women's outdoor pole vault at the conference meet.

In the heptathlon, Madison Meyer sits in second with 3,164 points. The Carterville, Ill., native won the 200m dash and recorded second place finishes in the high jump and 100m dash. In the decathlon, Trevor Thompson sits in seventh with 3,052 points. Thompson's best finish of the day came in the high jump, where the junior from Union City, Ind., took first with a mark of 1.99m (6-6.25).

Freshman Iaunia Pointer and sophomore Olivia Garner qualified for Sunday's 200m dash finals after finishing third and eighth in the preliminaries, respectively.

The second day's events begin with the decathlon's 110m hurdles at 10 a.m., followed by the heptathlon's long jump at 10:30 a.m. Field events begin at 3 p.m. with the women's shot put trial and finals, with the men's high jump finals to follow. Running events begin at 5 p.m. with the women's 100m hurdles and end with the men's 3,000m steeplechase, which is set to begin at 6:55 p.m.

Men's Team Scores
1 | Illinois State | 51.33
2 | Northern Iowa | 34
3 | Drake | 27
4 | Southern Illinois | 15
5 | Bradley | 14
6 | Evansville | 8.33
7 | Loyola | 4
8 | Valparaiso | 2
9 | Indiana State | 0.33

Women's Team Scores
1 | Illinois State | 43
2 | Southern Illinois | 37
3 | Loyola | 28
4 | Indiana State | 11
T5 | Evansville | 10
T5 | Missouri State | 10
7 | Northern Iowa | 9
8 | Drake | 6

Salukis in the Top-Five

Women
Hammer – Finals
1 | Shauniece O'Neal | 66.51m (218-2.5)
4 | Emily Kern | 60.06m (197-0.75)
5 | Elisia Lancaster | 59.18m (194-2)

Pole Vault - Finals
1 | Erin Diemer | 3.95m (12-11.5)

Javelin - Finals
2 | Emma Sexton | 46.09m (151-2.75)

200m Dash – Prelims (Top-8 Qualify for Finals)
3 | Iaunia Pointer | 24.02Q
8 | Olivia Garner | 24.52Q

Men
Hammer – Finals
1 | Ricky Hurley | 67.94m (222-10.75)

Decathlon
Trevor Thompson – 7^th Place (3,052 points)
1 | High Jump | 1.99m (6-6.25)
7 | Shot Put | 10.12m (33-2.5)
7 | 400m Dash | 54.85
8 | Long Jump | 6.04m (19-9.75)
10 | 100m Dash | 12.45

Heptathlon
Madison Meyer – 2^nd (3,164 points)
1 | 200m Dash | 24.95
2 | High Jump | 1.63m (5-4.25)
2 | 100m Dash | 14.24
5 | Shot Put | 10.42m (34-2.25)

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