BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Saluki Track and Field closed their indoor regular season with a bang Friday at the Samford Bulldogs Invitational.

The Dawgs won nine events in this weekend’s meet along with notching four Top 10 school marks into the SIU record books.

“I’m glad we’re on par for where we want to be this time of the season,” said Rosalind Joseph, Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. “Last week I challenged our athletes’ sense of urgency and warned against complacency. Today’s results show their response to that challenge.”

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All four of the Top 10 marks came from Southern’s women and senior sprinter Tyjuana Eason led the charge.

Eason not only took home first in the 200 meter dash, she broke her own school record in the event running a time of 24.17 seconds. She was also a member of the first place SIU 1600 meter relay team.

Senior sprinter Bri’Anna Branch also earned a spot on the Top 10 list in the 200 meter dash as she ran a personal best time of 24.85 seconds to move into the 10th slot.

The next Top 10 mark came from senior high jumper Justine Paton. Paton set a new personal best this weekend with a leap of 1.70 meters to finish fourth. This jump moved her into a tie for sixth place on the Saluki All-Time List.

The final Top 10 finish came from sophomore thrower Aveun Moore as she moved into the ninth spot on the shot put list with a toss of 15.82 meters. Moore’s performance allowed her to take home a first place finish in the event.

Friday proved to be a great day for Southern sprints as they compiled more than half of the Dawgs’ wins.

Apart of this group was junior sprinter Genesis Ewell who won the women’s 400 meter dash and stole the third seed position in the MVC clocking a personal best time of 56 seconds.

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Ewell was also apart of the first place 1600 meter relay making her the second “double-winner” of the meet.

Senior Megan Krolak notched another win on the women’s side as she earned a first place finish in the 3K running a personal best time of ten minutes.

On the men’s end, sophomore Canoy Tyree took home a win in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:52.08. The sophomore was the final “double-winner” for the Dawgs as he was a member of the men’s first place 1600 meter relay team.

Both the men and women’s throwers continued to dominate in the circle taking home three wins and several top three finishes.

Senior Alexis Roberson earned a first place finish in the weight throw with a toss of 20.30 meters, while her teammate, sophomore Shauniece O’Neal, was right behind her in second place with a personal best throw of 20.15 meters.

The Saluki men swept the shot put once again this season finishing 1,2, and 3. Senior Adam Kessler took the first place spot with a toss of 18.71 meters, while teammates Sam Sikon and Rick Hurley followed.

Hurley also took home another third place finish in the weight throw tossing the weight 18.69 meters out and improving upon his MVC leading mark.

“There were a lot of season-best performances that will help boost confidence as we head into the conference championships,” Joseph said.

After finishing out their regular indoor season, Southern will now head to the MVC Indoor Championship. The event is set for February 23rd and will be held at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

Sports reporter Tamar Mosby can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @mosbytamar.

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