Hill predicted she would be victorious prior to the meet and triumphed to first-place finishes in the high jump and triple jump at the Missouri Valley Conference Track and Field Championships in Normal over the weekend.

Hill’s high jump of 5 feet 8 inches and triple jump of 40 feet 5.50 inches earned her MVC Most Valuable Women’s Field Athlete honors and 20 points for her team.

Women’s coach Don DeNoon said Hill was deserving of the award.

Advertisement

She was just outstanding, DeNoon said. It was a real competitive situation for her. She was definitely the best jumper there to win the MVP for the field events.

Hill led the women’s team to a third-place finish with 69 points, just two points ahead of Northern Iowa University (67). Southwest Missouri State University won the meet (124), while Indiana State University finished second (94).

Other top finishers for the women’s team were senior Raina Larsen with a second-place finish in the mile (4:59.98), senior Kelly French finished second in the 3,000-meter run (9:56.62) and third in the 5,000-meter run (17:34.01), and junior Michelle Nitzsche finished third in the pole vault (9 feet 7.25 inches).

DeNoon said the team performed up to its potential in the meet.

We got the maximum out of our athletes all the way along the line, DeNoon said.

DeNoon and his team is now preparing for the outdoor season, which begins March 14.

I’m certainly more encouraged now going into the outdoor season than I was going into the indoor season, DeNoon said. The freshmen now have a season behind them and we can get some of our athletes back like [senior] Gayla [Harrington] and [freshman] Becky Cox.

Advertisement*

The men’s team, which has been plagued by injuries all year, was led by sophomore Loren King with a first-place finish in the high jump (6 feet 9 inches).

Despite the injuries the team managed a fourth-place finish with a score of 47 points. Illinois State University won the meet with 139 points followed by Northern Iowa (102.50) and Indiana State (75.67).

Men’s coach Bill Cornell was pleased with his team’s performance in the meet without its top competitors.

I think we got some pretty gutsy performances from our team, Cornell said. Everyone gave a pretty good performance; hopefully, it will continue on to the outdoor season.

Top finishers for the Salukis were junior Romante Archer with third-place finish in the 200-meter dash (22.20) and a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash (49.59). Sophomore Matt McClelland finished third in the 3,000-meter run (8:23.85), while sophomore Michael Sandusky placed second in the shot put (53 feet 3.75 inches).

The men’s squad competed in the meet without five of its top competitors, seniors Orlando McKee (long jumper/sprinter), Neophytos Kalegerou (high jumper), Elliot Young (high jumper/hurdler), junior Joseph Parks (distance runner) and sophomore Andy Bosak (distance runner).

Cornell is optimistic about the upcoming outdoor season and the return of his injured athletes.

It will be a bigger challenge outdoors, but we’re looking forward to it, Cornell said. Neophytos [Kalegerou] won’t be back, but the other four guys should be back.

The men’s and women’s track and field team will open the outdoor season March 14 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss.