Leathernecks Conclude Summit League Outdoor Championships

Western Illinois wrapped up the league championships in Fargo, N.D.

FINAL RESULTS

FARGO, N.D. — The Western Illinois Fighting Leatherneck track and field teams concluded the final day of The Summit League Outdoor Championships, as the women finished fourth while the men wrapped up with a fifth-place finish.

"I was really pleased with our team's performance today. We couldn't have asked for a whole lot better, especially from our seniors," said head coach Mike Stevenson. "The seniors were great and set a high bar for the rest of the team to look up to in the future. As for the team scoring, we accomplished our goals and are enthusiastic about the future. It will be hard to replace this senior class, but we will work hard with the underclassmen develop them and hope they can live up to their own expectations."

Alyssa Johnson and Josh Kirby both found themselves back on the podium for the women's 800-meter finals and the men's hurdling events. Johnson capped off her league championship performance with a runner-up finish in the 800 with a time of 2:09.33, and Kirby also garnered a pair of second-place finishes in the men's 110-meter hurdles (14.72) and the 400-meter hurdles, where he also notched a new personal-best of 53.16 seconds. Kirby's time in the 400-meter hurdles also puts him in the top-10 all-time in program history for the event, as he now ranks ninth.

For the women's triple jump, both Ashley Graham and Khalyia Lawson earned top-5 performances at the league championships. Graham's 39'09.75" (11.83 meters) earned her a third-place finish as well as a new personal record, and Lawson's 38'06.25" (11.74 meters) was right behind her for fourth overall. Both ladies also saw their results crack the top-10 individual all-time performance list for the program, as Graham now ranks fourth all-time and Lawson ranks sixth in program history for the women's triple jump.

The women's 4 x 400 relay team of Alyssa Johnson, Jaclyn Finney, Kaliyah Cobb and Sierra Woods also recorded a new personal best of 3:51.45.

The Leathernecks will now await to see who from the men's and women's roster will qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Championships. Qualifiers are scheduled to be announced Thursday (May 18). The West Preliminary Championship is in Austin, Texas is set to take place May 25-27.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:
Men:
1. North Dakota State – 253
2. South Dakota State – 199
3. South Dakota – 194
4. Oral Roberts – 93
5. Western Illinois – 41
6. IUPUI – 26

Women:
1. North Dakota State – 335
2. South Dakota – 241
3. South Dakota State – 107.5
4. Western Illinois – 43.5
5. Oral Roberts – 33
6. Omaha – 32
7. IUPUI – 13
8. Fort Wayne – 12