Indiana ran away with the meet, winning with 147 points, almost doubling the point value of its nearest competitor Ball State, who had 78 points. Indiana State placed third with 75.5 points, and SIUC and Middle Tennessee State University tied for fourth place totaling 69 points each.

Only one team could come out a winner, but individual performances by SIUC athletes could not be ignored.

This meet was a bit of the good, the bad, and the ugly, men’s coach Bill Cornell said. I’m extremely pleased with some of our efforts, but also feel some athletes need to get in top shape before the Missouri Valley Conference Championships arrive.

Advertisement

For us to win the (MVC) Championship, we need to be hitting on all cylinders, Cornell said.

Cornell added that only about half of the team is ready for the MVC Championships at this point of the season.

Eleven season best performances paced the Salukis to their fourth place finish as top performers for SIUC were sophomore Stelios Marneros and freshman Andrew Fooks, who finished second and third respectively in the 3,000 meter run with times of 8:30.2 and 8:30.9.

Senior high jumper Cameron Wright and freshman high jumper Rodney White crowded the top positions in the high jump. Wright placed first, jumping 6-10 3/4, while White finished third with 6-7 3/4.

Also turning in a top distance for the Salukis, was sophomore Jerome Kiaku, who landed second place in the triple jump with a leap of 46-2 1/2.

Cornell expressed that the Indiana Invite was a very good organized meet to compete at.

This was an excellent meet overall organizational wise, Cornell said. I was happy with the format of the meet.

Advertisement*