The Missouri State track and field team concluded the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship Sunday May 13, in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bears placed fourth overall with 111 team points, missing third place by just one point. Wichita State won the championship for the fourth consecutive year with 185 points. Northern Iowa finished second with 157.50 points and Indiana State finished just above the Bears with 112 points. Southern Illinois placed fifth with 105 points, followed by Illinois State with 82, Drake with 56.5, and Bradley finished in eighth with six points.
Missouri State senior Genna Williams had a very noteworthy meet, placing first in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Her time of 11.30 in the 100-meter dash was a personal-best and set a new MSU record. The record was previously held by Yves-Rose Jerome who marked a time of 11.35 in 1996. Her 200-meter dash time of 23.85 is also a personal-best and both times surpass regional qualifying marks. Williams was also the second leg of the Bears' 4x100-meter relay that placed second in a season-best time of 45.58, also a regional qualifying mark. For Williams' stellar performances, she was named the MVC Outstanding Female Track Athlete.
The other three Bears that made up the regional qualifying 4x100 team included Kim Carter, Alexandria Oembler and Leander Ernest.
Oembler also added a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 14.39 and Carter placed fifth in the 100-meter dash is a season-best time of 12.04.
In the 400-meter dash, sophomore Yaneika Malcolm ran a personal-best time of 55.41 to place third. MSU's Tanya Cyrus finished right behind Malcolm to earn fourth in 55.55.
Ernest, the favorite to win the 800-meter run, had a slight mishap in the beginning of the race as she lost a shoe and had to continue to run. She ended up second in a time of 2:13.41.
MSU's Kristin Wolkey finished seventh in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:22.37. The sophomore ran a personal-best time of 4:32.87 in the 1,500-meter run to place second.
Carrie Vestal and Jamie Vest had a sixth and eighth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run in times of 18:01.97 and 18:09.14, respectively.
The Bears closed out the meet with a huge win in the 4x400-meter relay. The foursome of Angelique Stephens, Cyrus, Malcolm and Ernest combined for a season best and regional-qualifying time of 3:39.59.
The Missouri State track and field team will take its regional-qualifying athletes to the NCAA Mideast Region Championship on Friday through Saturday, May 25-26, in Columbia, Mo.
