May 16, 2008

By Shalae Patrick
www.siusalukis.com

Results

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois track and field teams sit in first on the women's side and second on the men's side, defending three league titles the first day of competition at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships at McAndrew Stadium on the Lew Hartzog Track.

Day one consisted mostly of multi events with finals in two throws events and one running event.

The Saluki women lead the team race with 36 points, while UNI came in a close second with 33. Illinois State finished third with 20 points, with Wichita State a close fourth with 16.

The Wichita State men edged SIU by one point, 35 to 34 on day one. Northern Iowa came in third and Illinois State fourth with 19 and 18 points respectively.

The lone Saluki multi athlete Matthew Rives sits in seventh place with 3,340 points after five events in the decathlon. His top finish was in the 100-meter dash, finishing eighth to earn 774 points in 11.40.

Brittany Riley defended her hammer throw title, becoming the first three-time champion in the event in Missouri Valley Conference history. The senior threw 218-06 to win by over 15 feet. Sasha Leeth and Rickael Roach finished third and fourth respectively for the Dawgs. Leeth threw 183-05 and Roach, 180-05, to score points.

Senior Brenton Siemons also defending his hammer title, winning for the second straight season. He threw a career-best 205-08 for the victory. Joe Paradiso (184-02) and Tom Smith (181-09) also scored points for SIU finishing fifth and seventh.

Smith went on to have the top finish for the Salukis in the javelin. He threw 178-10 good for seventh place.

In the 10,000-meter run, Jeff Schirmer pulled away in the final 300 meters to defend his league title in 30:07.50. Daniel Dunbar stepped up to finish third in 30:25.89 for six points.

On the women's side, Emily Toennies ran 37:08.99 good for fourth place in her first collegiate 10,000.

Two Saluki women recorded personal records in the javelin recording third and fifth-place finishes. Toni Whitfield threw 138-05 for third, while Jessica Vermeulen finished fifth with a toss of 135-03.