May 15, 2004

By Josh Magill
www.SIUSalukis.com

Final Stats

NORMAL, Ill. - Bringing it down to the wire, senior Willie Davis finally qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in the 400-meter dash on Saturday - the final day of the Missouri Valley Conference Track and Field Championships. Davis took the race title with a time of 47.15, which is .40 seconds faster than his season best, and he's happy to have reached his goal.

"It's been a long journey, but I just came out here today and gave it my all," Davis told reporters at the championship. "I got the win, it feels good and I thank God for it."

The Southern Illinois University men's track squad, which was expected to finish in fifth this season, missed by just one place as the Salukis ended the four-day competition in sixth with just 55 points. Wichita State took the team title with 150 points, followed Northern Iowa (133) and Indiana State (120). The fourth team spot was earned by host Illinois State with 97 points, then Southwest Missouri State in fifth with 56 points - just one more than SIU.

Freshman Antwon Stapleton finished fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 47-11.25. Sophomore Freddy Rule snagged fourth place on a judge's decision after leaping to a height of 6-09.

The men's team of senior Davis, junior Emmanuel Daux, as well as sophomores Ray Scotten and Felix Anderson finished third on the day with a time of 41.57.

Daux returned to run a regional qualifying mark in the 110-meter hurdles for the sixth time this season - three of them under 14 seconds - to finish third. His time of 14.26 would place him eighth in the all-time best list, yet he ran a time of 13.87 earlier in the season, which makes him fifth.

Anderson, who sat out the entire outdoor season, made his comeback worthwhile, claiming sixth place in the 100-meters as he crossed the line in 10.92 seconds. The 100-meter time is a career best for Anderson. He went on to finish seventh in the 200-meter dash, followed by Daux in eighth. Anderson posted a time of 22.02 and Daux earned his spot in 22.64 seconds.

Scotten, who ran on the 4x100-meter relay team, earned the crown in the pole vault for the second straight year with a height of 17-04.50. The Saluki phenom said he expected to win the competition as he does every year.

For the men, sophomore Joe Byrne finished seventh with a time of 14:44.02 in the 5000-meters, followed by Eli Baker in 12th with a time of 15:07.31.

The women's team did just what the pre-championship poll predicted as the Salukis finished third - bettering last year's fifth place finish - with 117 points. Wichita State again took the team title, earning 159 points, followed by Southwest Missouri State in second (138). Indiana State finished fourth with 98 points, while Illinois State finished the championship in fifth with 80.5 points.

In the women's triple jump, junior Inna Turevsky finished third after a regional qualifying mark of 40-07.00, while junior Katie Fesler grabbed eighth place with a leap of 5-03.75 in the high jump.

Junior Venisha Williams finished runner-up in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 165-09. Fellow junior Katy Ritten tossed a mark of 156-00 for fifth place, while senior Danielle Lawary ended the day in sixth with a mark of 153-07.

Lawary returned in the shot put to snag fourth place with a toss of 46-01.25, while Ritten finished fifth with a mark of 45-07.25.

The Saluki women's 4x100-meter relay team, comprised of senior Korto Dunbar, juniors Kelsey Toussaint and Yvonne Cohen, and freshman Sherlenia Green, qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships with a season-best time of 45.76, which was good enough for second place in the race, as well as the SIU school record.

In the 1500-meters, senior Noa Beitler once again took the MVC title - her third in the 1500 - with a time of 4:30.62. Beitler was followed in seventh by freshman Sarah Rinker, who crossed the line in 4:47.35.

"This is my 11th title that I have won," Beitler said. "I enjoyed running on this track because it is a soft feel and good on the feet. Since this is my last year, it is nice to end it on a good note."

Dunbar earned the title in her specialty, the 100-meter hurdles, with a regional qualifying time of 13.83, but says she knows she can do better and did earlier in the season.

"It feels good to win this event, especially knowing that there was heavy competition," Dunbar said. "I know this wasn't my best time because I could feel the wind holding me back making me have to work harder than normal."

Toussaint and Green returned for the women's team to finish third and fifth in the 400-meter dash with times of 54.66 and 55.55, respectively. Toussaint's time was just .05 seconds from the regional standard.

In the 100-meter dash, Dunbar finished fifth with a time of 12.25, while Cohen followed in a time of 12.41 for eighth. Dunbar then posted a time of 25.27 in the 200-meter dash for eighth place, but it was Toussaint that snagged third with a time of 24.04, while Green ended the day in seventh with a mark of 24.62. Toussaint's time places her third all-time on the Saluki outdoor best list.

Sophomore Ty-Nica Davis finished runner-up in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:09.80 - a career best and regional qualifying time. Beitler followed her in third with a time of 2:10.75.

Marquita Vines ended the 400-meter hurdles in third place, while Leslie Murillo was fifth. The duo posted times of 1:01.19 and 1:01.79, respectively.

In the grueling 5000-meters, Lindsay Wagner earned eighth place with a time of 17:40.33, and Cherylynn Schilling, who crossed the line in a time of 18:20.37, followed her in 13th place.

In the final event of the day, the women's 4x400-meter relay qualified for the NCAA regional with a time of 3:41.74.

In two weeks, seven women, four men and two women's team relay squads will compete in the 2004 NCAA Regional Championships. The event is scheduled to be held in Baton Rouge, La. on May 28-29. Results can be found at www.SIUSalukis.com.