March 12, 2011

CONWAY, S.C. - The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville track and field teams followed a record-breaking Friday with another strong day in the Coastal Carolina Invitational finale Saturday.

"Overall, the meet went great," said SIUE Head Coach Kareem Jackson. "The conditions were perfect for running with very little wind, 70 degrees, and plenty of sun."

Junior Kristin Wykoff got the day started right for the women as she claimed top honors in the discus throw after a toss of 140-8.

Shannika Vance turned in a pair of top five finishes in the jump events. Vance placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 37-6.5 and a mark of 17-7.5 earned her fourth in the triple jump.

Close behind Vance in the triple jump was sophomore Michelle Higgins. Higgins finished fourth with a jump of 37-1.75.

Freshman Hilary Conrad had a stellar day for SIUE as she placed fourth in the 400-meter run in a time of 57.65 while running in the fastest heat. Conrad finished 14th in the 200 meters earlier in the day crossing the tape in 25.81, the second fastest time in her heat.

After anchoring the record-breaking relay Friday, Dede Lofton earned a second-place finish in the 800-meter run. She finished the race as the top collegiate runner in 2 minutes, 15.84 seconds.

Sophomore Colleen McDonough followed up a third-place performance Friday in the hammer throw with a similar result in the shot put. Her toss of 41-8.75 earned third.

The distance events also proved successful as Renee Goodenough led the charge in the 1,500-meter run placing 13th in a time of 5:02.26. Emily Conlon and Claire Brown were not far behind finishing 20th and 21st, respectively.

Sophomore William Lindsey led the way for the Cougars men's team as the top collegiate finisher in the 110-meter hurdles for the second consecutive year with a time of 14.42 seconds. Lindsey also placed sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 54.96.

Eric Mammoser got his senior season off to a great start placing third in the pole vault clearing 15 feet, 1 inch for the Cougars.

Freshman Jamil Mashni carried his success from indoors to outdoors by turning in a sixth-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 46-9.

Marc Presley won his heat in the 400 meters in 50.28 and finished 15th overall to round out the top performers for SIUE.

"There was a lot of really good competition all weekend," concluded Jackson.

-siue cougars-