Track and Field Recap

As the hammer towered over the field and finally descended for a record-breaking mark, SIUC women’s track and field senior Amy Stearns had made her presence felt.

Stearns set a stadium and SIUC record with a first-place toss of 147 feet 1 inch in the hammer throw to open the outdoor season in an unscored meet at the University of Southern Mississippi Relays in Hattiesburg, Miss., Saturday.

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Stearns was not content with just one first-place finish though. She also led the Salukis with a first-place finish in the shot put (41 feet 11.25 inches).

Stearns was pleased with her performance, but said it will take steady improvement to be at the top of the conference rankings.

It will take some good throws to get into the conference rankings in the throws, Stearns said. The conference competition is always much tougher.

Women’s coach Don DeNoon said Stearns will be challenged by the rigorous competition of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Valley probably has one of the best group of throwers in the country because they have so much depth, DeNoon said. Amy is right up there with them, probably in the top six or seven.

Stearns believes more meet experience in the outdoor season will aid in her improvement.

The transition from the indoor to the outdoor season is different, Stearns said. The whole indoor experience is closed and confined, and in the outdoor meets you just have to adjust to the different conditions.

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Stearns hopes the addition of more field events in the outdoor season will help improve on the Salukis’ third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 27-28 in Normal.

Hopefully, more field events will bring in more points in the conference meet, Stearns said.

The outdoor conference meet is May 14-17 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Another top athlete for the Salukis was freshman Caryn Poliquin, who was only four inches away from matching Stearns’ mark in the hammer throw with a second-place toss of 146 feet 9 inches. Poliquin also finished second in the discus (132 feet 06 inches) and third in the shot put (41 feet 07 inches).

Other top finishers for the Salukis were senior Raina Larsen with a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10 minutes 24.79 seconds. Junior Felicia Hill placed first in the triple jump (38 feet 10 inches) and second in the high jump (5 feet 4 inches).

Sophomore Joy Cutrano finished second in the 1,500-meter run (4:52.84), while senior Mindy Bruck finished third in the 800-meter run (2:17.24).

The men’s team also had a productive weekend, highlighted by the anticipated return of a group of its top athletes.

Junior Joseph Parks returned in a positive fashion with a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:21.47) and a personal-best time in the 800-meter run (1:55.76) for a sixth-place finish. Sophomore Andy Bosak also made the best of his return with a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter run (8:40.98).

Senior Orlando McKee helped the 400-meter relay team to a fourth-place finish (41.48 seconds), just shy of the NCAA qualifying time (40 seconds).

Also performing well for the Salukis was sophomore Brad Bowers with a first-place finish in the long jump (24 feet 0 inches) and a third-place finish in the triple jump (47 feet 1 inches). Junior Ryan Lovelace finished first in the pole vault (14 feet 6 inches).

Senior Devyn Resmer finished second in the javelin (190 feet 2 inches), sophomore Michael Sandusky placed second in the hammer throw with a personal best toss (163 feet 8 inches), and sophomore Loren King also placed second for the Salukis in the high jump (6 feet 8 inches).

Men’s coach Bill Cornell said the team is optimistic about the upcoming season with a healthy team.

From now on out, we hope to get better each week and try to peak at conference, Cornell said.

Cornell was pleased with the outcome of a week spent together as a team.

It was good to be together for a week, Cornell said. The weather wasn’t all that great all week, but it was nice on Saturday. That was really good for us.