Salukis Continue to Climb MVC Charts After Strong Weekend

02/01/2026 | 8:26:00 | Track and Field

By: Dante Green

Saluki track and field wrapped up an eventful weekend Saturday night at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky. Ten Salukis walked away with personal bests, while several others solidified their spots among the leaders in the Missouri Valley Conference rankings.

One week after breaking the school record in the 1,000 meters by more than four seconds, Weston Jokerst earned another personal best—this time in the 800 meters. Jokerst clocked a 1:53.81, winning his heat and finishing 16th out of 82 competitors. Shane Ashton finished second in the men's 200 meters with a time of 21.58, an indoor mark that also surpassed his outdoor best. Hannah Meiser continued her strong stretch by breaking her personal best in the 5000m.

Malik Allen now leads the entire MVC in the men's triple jump after placing fourth at the PNC with a mark of 15.25 meters. Darius Fuller finished seventh out of 36 in the same event. Tiara Murray recorded a career-best jump of 5.26 meters in the Open Jump event inside Runway. In his first-ever indoor competition, Ben Chance posted a mark of 15.07. Christian Coleman turned in a new personal best, running a sub-8:00 time, while transfer Kwame Smith recorded a personal record in the men's 200 meters. Coleman also finished sixth out of 56 in the men's 60m hurdle open semis. Riley Linville also notched a personal best in the women's 5,000 meters, finishing in 18:08. Smith and Ashton each won their respective 200-meter heats, and Drew Tyman shaved two seconds off his time from last weekend.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Kwame Smith, Jalen Dickerson, Shane Ashton, and Weston Jokerst now leads the Missouri Valley Conference following Saturday's performance.They finished sixth at the invitational with a season best time of 3.13. On the women's side, the 4x400-meter relay squad of Leah Thames, Trinity Cleaver, Layla Watson, and Vashti Grey sits second in the conference standings. They finished ahead of Ashland, Alabama, Huntsville, and Lipscomb. They also had a season best at 4x400m relay at the PNC Invitational with a time of 3.46.07. Leah Thames had a season best in the 200m with a time of 24.05.