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LIBERTY, Missouri – The University of Indianapolis men and Lewis University women hold the lead in their respective team races after Friday’s second day of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which is being hosted at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
Through seven events scored, UIndy holds a five-point advantage with 60 points overall, followed by defending GLVC Champion Missouri S&T in second with 55 points. Lewis University (47) sits third, while Saint Joseph’s College (29) and University of Southern Indiana (27) are fourth and fifth, respectively. Bellarmine University (21) holds sixth position, and McKendree University (15), William Jewell College (9), University of Wisconsin-Parkside (6) and Truman State University (4) round out the top 10 in the 13-team field. Drury University, Maryville University and Quincy University will look to get on the board on Saturday.
On the women’s side, Lewis holds a commanding 33-point lead with 72 points scored over the first two days. Defending GLVC Champion Indianapolis is second with 39 points, Truman State (37) is third, Missouri S&T (28) is fourth, and Southern Indiana (22.5) is fifth. Bellarmine (22) sits sixth overall, while William Jewell (18.5), McKendree (15), Saint Joseph’s (10), Maryville (7) and UW-Parkside (2) all found the board on Friday.
Among the highlights recorded on Friday, GLVC records were broken in five events.
In the women’s triple jump, Lewis senior Amber Cook successfully defended her title with a new GLVC record mark of 12.56 meters. Her effort bested the previous mark of 11.94 meters, set by SIU Edwardsville’s Christine Butler in 2007. With exception of McKendree’s Ciara Jones finishing third, Lewis took the top six spots in the event. Saint Joseph’s saw sophomore Phil Thompson claim the men’s triple jump with a leap of 14.95 meters.
Lewis’ Kristen Bonsor shattered the 3,000-meter steeplechase conference record by nearly 30 seconds with a time of 10:33.69. The previous time of 11:02.14 was set by USI's Mary Ballinger in 2010. In the same event, Flyer teammate Michael Leet scored a win in the men’s race with a time of 9:00.31.
UIndy’s Vincent Ziraldo took the gold in the men’s hammer throw with a winning GLVC record heave of 58.57 meters. That mark tops the previous league record of 57.54, set by Missouri S&T’s Joseph Vellella in 2005. UIndy’s Lissette Mendivil scored a win in the women’s hammer at 51.77 meters.
William Jewell’s Margaret Perko (4925) and Lewis’ Bryce Holesinger (6797) captured the heptathlon and decathlon events, respectively. The latter mark set by Holesinger shattered the GLVC record of 6,428, set by Jewell’s Logan Pettz in 2012.
Jewell's Blake Alexander also clipped the GLVC record in the preliminaries of the 110-meter high hurdles. His qualifying time of 14.08 topped the previous mark of 14.11, set by Lewis' Victor Tolstov in 2000.
Three freshmen took the podium following the women’s shot put. Truman State newcomer Cassidy Smestad earned the gold with a heave of 14.44 meters. In the men’s event, UIndy’s Shaquelle Lewis posted a mark of 16.56 meters.
UIndy’s Alex Cushman netted a victory in the men’s 10,000-meter run. His time of 30:46.17 was good enough for the gold medal. On the women’s side, Lewis’ Jaime Hershfang crossed the line first in 36:45.81.
All first-place finishers were named GLVC Champion and first-team All-GLVC, while runners-up earned second-team All-GLVC distinction.
Coverage on the GLVCSN resumes Saturday at 8:55 a.m. CT and remains live all the way through closing ceremonies. Live results of the conference meet are available at
GLVCsports.com/GLVCotf16, while live streaming can be found at
GLVCsports.com/watch. Fans can also follow the championship coverage on Twitter via the hashtag, #GLVCtrack.