Thursday, May 27
College Station, Texas
Southern Illinois University
vs
NCAA West Prelims
16 Salukis Qualify for NCAA West Regionals
05/20/2021 | 4:20:00 | Track and Field
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois University track and field program will send 16 student-athletes to the NCAA West Preliminaries in College Station, Texas, the NCAA announced on Thursday. Texas A&M will serve as the host school during the four-day meet, which is set to begin on May 26 and conclude on May 29.
The women's team will send 10 student-athletes, while the men will be sending six, marking the most out of any school in the Missouri Valley Conference and the program's second-straight year sending 16 Salukis to the first-round meet.
The top-48 individual and top-24 relay declarations within the East and West Regions earned berths to their respective preliminary meet. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon) are not contested at the preliminary site.
FULL LIST OF ENTRIES
The Saluki women will be represented in six different events - three on the track and three in the field. On the track, Iaunia Pointer, fresh off of winning the MVC Freshman of the Year award at last weekend's MVC Outdoor Championships, will be competing in the 200-meter dash, where she holds a personal-best time of 23.54, which is the third-fastest time in program history. Senior Savannah Long will be competing in the 400-meter hurdles, where she owns a PR of 58.96, the fourth-fastest time in program history. Kayla Schiera will make her second-straight trip to the prelim round to compete in the 3000-meter steeplechase. The junior distance runner recently set a PR of 10:14.46 in the event at the MVC Championships, which is the second-fastest mark in SIU history.
In the field, SIU will see the trio of A'veun Moore-Jones, Kayleigh Conlon and Bri'Yanna Robinson compete in the shot put, with another trio of Shauniece O'Neal, Elisia Lancaster and Emily Kern set to compete in the hammer. Qualifying in her third-straight prelims, Moore-Jones, the 2021 MVC indoor and outdoor shot put champion, will look to improve upon her outdoor PR of 16.69m (54-09.25), a mark that stands as the seventh-furthest in program history. Meanwhile, Conlon and Robinson hold the second and third-best marks of the season for the Salukis in the event. O'Neal, the MVC outdoor champion in the hammer throw, leads a Saluki hammer group that ranks as fourth-best in the NCAA this season (USTFCCCA), averaging 61.78m (202-08) per attempt.
On the men's side, Willie Johnson will make his debut to the West prelim round after a weekend that saw the freshman net two MVC titles (400m, 4x400). Johnson will compete in the 400-meter dash, where he owns a PR of 46.39, which is the eighth-fastest in program history. Rounding out the men on the track is Kyle Lind, who'll compete in the 110-meter hurdles, and Omar Rodgers, who's set to compete in the 400-meter hurdles.
In the field events, Willie Rodgers qualified for the high jump for the second-straight season, while Clint Meyer and Ricky Hurley will compete in the shot put. Hurley will take on double-duty at the meet, as the senior thrower is also set to compete in the discus, an event he's fresh off winning at the MVC outdoor championships.
Since the two-region format began in 2010, Southern Illinois has sent a total of 222 student-athletes to compete at the preliminary meet.
SIU Regional Participants
Women
Iaunia Pointer (200m)
Savannah Long (400m Hurdles)
Kayla Schiera (3000m Steeplechase)
Erin Diemer (Pole Vault)
A'veun Moore-Jones (Shot Put)
Kayleigh Conlon (Shot Put)
Bri'Yanna Robinson (Shot Put)
Shauniece O'Neal (Hammer)
Elisia Lancaster (Hammer)
Emily Kern (Hammer)
Men
Willie Johnson (400m)
Kyle Lind (110m Hurdles)
Omar Rodgers (400m Hurdles)
Willie Rodgers (High Jump)
Clint Meyer (Shot Put)
Ricky Hurley (Discus, Hammer)
The qualifiers out of the East and West Region preliminaries will compete at the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which are held June 9-12 on the University of Oregon's campus in Eugene, Ore.
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The women's team will send 10 student-athletes, while the men will be sending six, marking the most out of any school in the Missouri Valley Conference and the program's second-straight year sending 16 Salukis to the first-round meet.
The top-48 individual and top-24 relay declarations within the East and West Regions earned berths to their respective preliminary meet. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon) are not contested at the preliminary site.
FULL LIST OF ENTRIES
The Saluki women will be represented in six different events - three on the track and three in the field. On the track, Iaunia Pointer, fresh off of winning the MVC Freshman of the Year award at last weekend's MVC Outdoor Championships, will be competing in the 200-meter dash, where she holds a personal-best time of 23.54, which is the third-fastest time in program history. Senior Savannah Long will be competing in the 400-meter hurdles, where she owns a PR of 58.96, the fourth-fastest time in program history. Kayla Schiera will make her second-straight trip to the prelim round to compete in the 3000-meter steeplechase. The junior distance runner recently set a PR of 10:14.46 in the event at the MVC Championships, which is the second-fastest mark in SIU history.
In the field, SIU will see the trio of A'veun Moore-Jones, Kayleigh Conlon and Bri'Yanna Robinson compete in the shot put, with another trio of Shauniece O'Neal, Elisia Lancaster and Emily Kern set to compete in the hammer. Qualifying in her third-straight prelims, Moore-Jones, the 2021 MVC indoor and outdoor shot put champion, will look to improve upon her outdoor PR of 16.69m (54-09.25), a mark that stands as the seventh-furthest in program history. Meanwhile, Conlon and Robinson hold the second and third-best marks of the season for the Salukis in the event. O'Neal, the MVC outdoor champion in the hammer throw, leads a Saluki hammer group that ranks as fourth-best in the NCAA this season (USTFCCCA), averaging 61.78m (202-08) per attempt.
On the men's side, Willie Johnson will make his debut to the West prelim round after a weekend that saw the freshman net two MVC titles (400m, 4x400). Johnson will compete in the 400-meter dash, where he owns a PR of 46.39, which is the eighth-fastest in program history. Rounding out the men on the track is Kyle Lind, who'll compete in the 110-meter hurdles, and Omar Rodgers, who's set to compete in the 400-meter hurdles.
In the field events, Willie Rodgers qualified for the high jump for the second-straight season, while Clint Meyer and Ricky Hurley will compete in the shot put. Hurley will take on double-duty at the meet, as the senior thrower is also set to compete in the discus, an event he's fresh off winning at the MVC outdoor championships.
Since the two-region format began in 2010, Southern Illinois has sent a total of 222 student-athletes to compete at the preliminary meet.
SIU Regional Participants
Women
Iaunia Pointer (200m)
Savannah Long (400m Hurdles)
Kayla Schiera (3000m Steeplechase)
Erin Diemer (Pole Vault)
A'veun Moore-Jones (Shot Put)
Kayleigh Conlon (Shot Put)
Bri'Yanna Robinson (Shot Put)
Shauniece O'Neal (Hammer)
Elisia Lancaster (Hammer)
Emily Kern (Hammer)
Men
Willie Johnson (400m)
Kyle Lind (110m Hurdles)
Omar Rodgers (400m Hurdles)
Willie Rodgers (High Jump)
Clint Meyer (Shot Put)
Ricky Hurley (Discus, Hammer)
The qualifiers out of the East and West Region preliminaries will compete at the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which are held June 9-12 on the University of Oregon's campus in Eugene, Ore.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
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