Lambert, McCall receive All-American honors

Throwers Jeneva McCall and J.C. Lambert each entered their third and final NCAA Indoor National Championship with different reasons to feel pressure.

McCall was selected as the favorite to win, while Lambert was looking to give his hometown Harrisburg something to cheer about. Both were successful.

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McCall won the National Championship in the weight throw March 10 in Nampa, Idaho, with a mark of 75′ 1.75,” defeating her closest opponent by more than five feet. McCall is only the second female indoor National Champion in SIU history and the fourth female to win a title in the Missouri Valley Conference.

She also placed second in the shot put with a personal best of 58′ 11.5″ and was named an NCAA All-American for the 10th time in her career.

After the meet, coach Connie Price-Smith applauded McCall’s performance and said she was excited to see her win the championship in her senior year.

Lambert was just inches away from being the National Champion in the weight throw March 10 during the Indoor Championships. With a toss of 72′ 1,” Lambert narrowly missed a first-place finish, but after the meet he was named an All-American for the fourth time in his career.

Multi-event athlete Malaikah Love also competed for the Salukis in her third NCAA championship appearance. Love took 11th place in the pentathlon with a total of 3976 points.

Love competed in the 60-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put, and 800-meter run. The senior’s best finish came in the shot put, when she posted a throw of 42′ 4″ to finish fourth.

Love said she knows the difficulty of competing at the national level.

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“Everyone came out today and gave their best. It is not easy coming in and competing on the national level,” she said.

The Salukis will start the outdoor season Saturday when they travel to Nashville to compete in the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational.