Women finish 3rd, Men take 4th at MVC Track & Field Championships

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Dec 5

Track and Field

Saluki Fast Start

Jan 16

Track and Field

Indiana Invitational

Jan 24

Track and Field

Don Denoon Classic

Jan 30

Track and Field

PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational

Feb 13

Track and Field

Heartland Invitational

Mar 1

Track and Field

Missouri Valley Conference Championships

Mar 13

Track and Field

NCAA Indoor Championships

Mar 20

Track and Field

Margaret Simmons Invitational

The Southern Illinois women's team finished third, while the men's team finished fourth, at this weekend's Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Drake University. Illinois State won the women's title, while Indiana State won on the men's side.

The Salukis won eight individual events and also claimed four specialty awards. SIU's Iaunia Pointer won the 100m and 200m, and claimed the Most Valuable Athlete award. Elisia Lancaster won the Hammer Throw and took home Most Outstanding Field Athlete honors. Kayla Schiera was the 3000m Steeplechase champion and Most Outstanding Track Athlete.

Other individual champions from Southern included A'Veun Moore-Jones (Shot Put and Discus), Omar Rodgers (110m Hurdles) and Trevor Thompson (High Jump). SIU's JC Lambert was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

The men's hammer throw got the action going for the Salukis on Friday in Des Moines. Dylan Beaird's longest toss of the day came on his third throw, registering in at 56.12m (184' 1"). That mark was good enough to propel him into the finals, ultimately placing 8th overall after the sixth and final round.

On the women's side, the Salukis occupied the top-four spots of the hammer event. Lancaster earned her first MVC title after marking a new personal best of 67.16m (220' 4"). That was the fifth-longest toss in SIU history and ranked as the 14th-best mark in the NCAA heading into championship weekend. Shauniece O'Neal took home silver with her mark of 66.87m (219' 4"), and Emily Kern grabbed the last spot on the podium at 61.39m (201' 5"). Kaitlyn Burson finished fourth with another toss over 60m, this one registering in at 60.37m (198' 0").

On Saturday, Schiera captured the MVC title in the 3000m Steeplechase by blowing past the field and finishing in a time of 9:58.24. That was an MVC Championship meet record by nearly 10 seconds. She also broke her own SIU record, beating her previous best by .07 seconds. In total, it was the fifth SIU record that Schiera has broken during the 2022 indoor/outdoor season.

Dawson Smith earned the Saluki men a third-place finish in the men's Steeplechase. The sophomore finished the race in 9:06.50, giving him his first career MVC medal. Ethan Senti also represented the distance runners well, he placed third in the men's 10k by running a nearly :30 second personal best (29:58.27)

The Saluki men gained key points in the men's High Jump. Thompson won his first MVC title by clearing a new personal best height of 2.11m (6' 11"). Dawson Plab was also able to clear that height, finishing one spot behind teammate Thompson. That gold was the sixth High Jump title for SIU in the last eight years.

Moore-Jones defended her MVC title when she captured gold in the women's shot. Moore-Jones marked at 16.32m (53' 6.5") on her first toss of the competition. That is the third consecutive MVC Outdoor Shot Put title for Moore-Jones. Kayleigh Conlon won silver, registering a heave of 16.31m (53' 6.25").

Rodgers was the first winner on Championship Sunday. He ran a new personal best of 13.98 to capture the win in the 110m hurdles. It was the first individual event win for Rodgers, and was the first title for SIU in the event since 2007. Rodgers later added a silver medal with his second-place finish in the 400m hurdles (51.28).

Pointer became a two-time MVC Outdoor champion on Sunday with her wins of the 100m and 200m dash. Pointer won her first career outdoor title in the 100m with a PR time of 11.46. Less than an hour later she repeated that feat in the 200m. Pointer turned in a personal best time of 23.31 to edge out the competition. It was the second fastest time in school history, and with the win, Pointer became the MVC 200m indoor/outdoor champion.

Moore-Jones earned her second win of the weekend on Sunday, claiming the conference discus title to become the first Saluki champion in the event since 2014. Her second toss of the event landed at 48.74m (159' 11"), which was good enough to secure the victory. Teammate Matisen Ingle placed third in the event with a mark of 47.96m (157' 4"), Bri'Yanna Robinson placed fourth (47.29m, 155' 2").

The Salukis ended the Championship weekend with a second-place finish in the women's 4x400 relay. The squad of Miracle Berry, Olivia Garner, Jhordin Galmore, and Pointer finished the meet finale in 3:44.04 .

Southern Illinois University MVC Champions
Elisia Lancaster - Hammer Throw
Kayla Schiera- 3000m Steeplechase
Iaunia Pointer – 100m Iaunia Pointer – 200m A'veun Moore-Jones – Shot Put
A'veun Moore-Jones – Discus
Omar Rodgers- 110m Hurdles
Trevor Thompson- High Jump

MVC Specialty Awards
Iaunia Pointer- Most Valuable Athlete
Kayla Schiera- Most Outstanding Track Athlete
Elisia Lancaster - Most Outstanding Field Athlete
Assistant Coach of the Year- JC Lambert

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