Day 3 Results (PDF) | Day 2 Results (PDF) | Day 1 Results (PDF)

WICHITA, Kan. – Junior Marissa Kurtimah became the only student-athlete to win two events at the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Sunday (May 14) when she defended her titles in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash for Missouri State. The Bears collected 70 points to finish sixth in the league championship meet.
 
"We finished in sixth, but looking ahead the excitement is building," head coach Ronald Boyce said. "We had some young teammates who performed exceptionally well.
 
"There are always bright spots in every track and field meet and we had plenty. I am proud of all who put their heads down and performed to the best of their abilities."
 
Kurtimah collected her first gold medal of the day in the 100-meter dash, posting a personal best time of 11.38 seconds. After a short rest, she raced out of the blocks in the 200-meter dash, securing first-place with a season-best time of 23.57.  Kurtimah's efforts on the track contributed a team leading 22.25 points to the Bears' overall total.
 
"It's never easy to defend championship titles, but Marissa did a fantastic job over the weekend," Boyce said. "She has been very reliable at championship meets, a gamer. I was happy to see her on top of the podium again."
 
Sophomore Asha Cave finished eighth in the 200-meter dash with at time of 24.58, tallying a team point.
 
Along with Taryn Smiley, Cave and Holly Pattie-Belleli, Kurtimah anchored Missouri State's bronze medal winning 4x100-meter relay team. The quartet posted a season-best time of 45.09.
 
The Bears' 4x400-meter relay team - Kadisha Francois, Shani Adams, Kurtimah and Pattie-Belleli – collected three points with a sixth-place time of 3:48.24.
 
Adams picked up a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line with a personal best time of 58.62. 
 
In the 100-meter hurdles, Pattie-Belleli took fourth place with a time of 13.55 and chipped in five team points.
 
Cindy Forde and Jessica Allen led the Bears' distance squad that turned heads with their performances not only today, but over the course of the season. Forde finished eighth in the 1,500-meter run, turning in a time of 4.45.52. She came back later in the day to finish seventh with a time of 2:19.49 in the 800-meter run.
 
Allen endured the 5,000-meter run to finish sixth and picked up three team points, after crossing the finish line in 17:46.95. After the meet, she was also named the MVC's Elite 18 Award winner as the female student-athlete that placed in an individual event and has the highest grade-point-average. The biology major finished third in the 10,000-meter run on Friday with a time of 36:24.85 and holds a 3.97 GPA.

"Jessie did a terrific job," Boyce said. "She had a wonderful breakthrough season and especially in her conference championship performances. It was rewarding to see her hard work pay off so handsomely."
 
Four Bears finished with five individual All-MVC accolades, as did the 4x100-meter relay team. MSU tallied 18 top-8 finishes at the 2017 championship meet. Senior thrower Melanie Raterman chipped in 10 points, Allen posted nine points while Adams and Pattie-Belleli turned in 8.75 and 8.25 points, respectively.