Jan. 7, 2011

Complete Results

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's track team had a strong showing in its season-opening meet on Friday at the Missouri Invitational from the Hearnes Center.

Sophomore Michelle Higgins got off to a great start for the 2011 season with a fifth place mark in the triple jump (37-2.25) and a seventh place finish in the long jump (16-11.5).

Both Higgins and Ciara Turner reached the finals of the 60-meter hurdles with impressive times in the preliminary round. Higgins placed fourth while Turner finished in eighth clocking in at 9.59 and 10.13, respectively.

"Higgins had a great meet," said Head Coach Kareem Jackson. "Making the finals in all three of her events was a tough feat to accomplish, especially in such a competitive meet."

Turner also reached the finals of the 60m dash turning in a seventh place finish (7.97 seconds).

In the 400m dash, freshman Dede Lofton claimed the top spot in her heat by edging out Tiffany Alexander of St. Louis University by one-hundredth of a second. Lofton's time of 1:00.82 placed her third in the event.

Junior Dana Fischer turned in a fifth-place performance in the pole vault clearing 9 feet, 8 inches and barely missed on all three attempts at 10-2, which would have bested her SIUE record set last year.

In the throws events, sophomore Colleen McDonough highlighted the SIUE effort with a pair of top ten finishes. McDonough finished in a tie for ninth place with fellow Cougar Kristin Wykoff in the weight throw with a mark of 48-9. She also placed tenth in the shot put with a toss of 37-5.75.

Junior Aftan Noon won the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 21.19 seconds, and also turned in a sixth place finish in the mile run (5:30.77) while running unattached.

"It is exciting to see what young talent we have on this team," added Jackson. "The leadership of our seniors has really benefitted the younger athletes and is a good indicator of the future of this program."

SIUE will return to the track at the Illini Classic from Jan. 21-22.

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