layMeet Results
 
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Missouri State distance medley relay team collected a third-place finish to highlight the opening day for the Bears at the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships here Saturday at the UNI Dome.
 
The Bears finished the day seventh in the team standings with 10 points.  Illinois State, who was picked to win the meet in the league's Pre-Championship Poll, remains the frontrunner with 81.16 points.
 
The relay squad of Edna Dar, India McNeill, Jasmine Crawford, and Grace Breiten combined to run an 11:59.08, which ranks fifth-best in program history.  The Bears surpassed their previous season-high time from the Gorilla Classic (Feb. 14) to move into the MSU record book.  
 
Jamilah James scored points for the Bears in the long jump for the second consecutive year at the conference championship.  The senior, who was the runner up at the 2019 meet, placed fifth in the event after leaping to a mark of 5.77 meters on her first attempt.  Talia Emerson, who finished 10th, also competed for the Bears in the long jump, setting a personal-best at 5.41 meters.
 
Malia Watkins, Timeka Jordan, and Calandra Henry each earned a spot in the finals of the 60-meter dash after advancing from the semifinals.  Watkins paced the trio with a time of 7.61 while Jordan (7.64) and Henry (7.69) followed closely behind to put three Bears in the event finale.
 
Watkins finished with the top time (24.72) in the 200-meter dash preliminaries to set the stage for another finals appearance for the freshman sprinter in tomorrow's closing day of competition.  Chanice Forbes will join Watkins in the finals after clocking a 25.49 in the prelims which matched the time of Loyola's Denee' Lawrence to secure one of the last two spots. 
 
Forbes added another event final to her ledger after she rounded out the prelims of the 400-meter dash with a 57.93.  She will face the rest of the Valley field in the finals on Sunday which is slated for a 2:25 p.m. start. 
 
In the mile prelims, Dar and Breiten recorded respective times of 5:07.93 and 5:08.14 to move on to tomorrow's race.  Dar currently holds the fourth-best time in the event among MVC milers while Breiten received a sixth-place finish at last year's conference meet.
 
Shelby Palmer came close to matching her career-best time (17:47.12) in the 5,000-meter run after finishing at the 17:47.72 mark which placed her 12th.
 
Day Two of the indoor championship begins tomorrow (Mar. 1) with the field events beginning at 11:00 a.m.  Track events are scheduled to start at 1:25 p.m. with the mile.
 
For more information on the Missouri State track and field team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or visit the team Twitter @MSUBearsTrackXC and Facebook.