Track & Field Bears Prepare for Valley Outdoor Championship

Friday, May 14

Carbondale, Ill.

Missouri State University

Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship

Track & Field Bears Prepare for Valley Outdoor Championship

May 13, 2021 | Women's Track & Field

Tournament Central Live Results Watch (Day 1)Watch (Day 2)Watch (Day 3)

By: MSU Athletics Communications

SPRINGFIELD – Following a five-meet regular season, Missouri State track and field is set to compete at the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship, hosted by Southern Illinois, this weekend (May 14-16). The three-day competition begins on Friday at 11 a.m., continues on Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. before Sunday's finale gets underway at 11:30 a.m.

Missouri State at MVC Outdoor Championship (Carbondale, Ill.)
Dates & Event Times	Friday, May 14 \| Multis: 11 a.m. \| Field: 12 p.m. \| Track: 6 p.m. Saturday, May 15 \| Multis: 10:30 a.m. \| Field: 3 p.m. \| Track: 5:00 p.m. Sunday, May 16 \| Field 11:30 a.m. \| Track: 1 p.m.
Location	Carbondale, Ill.
Site	Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex \| Fan attendance is prohibited
Follow Along	Live Results \| Championship Central \| Watch (Day 1) \| Watch (Day 2) \| Watch (Day 3)
Missouri State	Track & Field Home Page \| Season Stats \| Record Book \| Twitter \| Facebook

Keeping Track of the Bears

Missouri State returns to the MVC Outdoor Championship for the first time since 2019 following last year's cancelation of the outdoor season. The Bears head to the conference competition after a successful run of their five-meet regular-season slate.
MSU was picked by league coaches to finish fourth at the MVC meet as the pre-championship poll was announced on May 7.
Missouri State has won the MVC outdoor championship three times with a string of titles from 2001-2003.
At the 2019 competition, MSU finished fifth in the team standings and had three current Bears earn all-conference honors with Grace Breiten (3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m), Jamilah James (triple jump) and Chicago Bains (100m hurdles) reaching the podium in their respective events. James garnered MVC Freshman of the Year honors at the 2018 meet after a runner-up finish in the triple jump and placing fourth in the long jump while Rochelle Etienne collected a silver medal in the javelin.
In their regular-season finale at the Rock Chalk Classic on April 30 – May 1, the Bears went up against a batch of fellow NCAA Division I West Region teams and earned 11 top-10 finishes. Madison Meredith won the 100-meter dash, which came after a third-place finish in the 200m, while Nakaja Weaver followed in fifth in the 100m. The sprinting duo went on to join Calandra Henry and Timeka Jordan for a second-place performance in the 4x100-meter relay. Jessica Haney finished third in the high jump.
For her performance at the Gorilla Classic on April 11, Haney was selected as MVC Field Athlete of the Week on April 14. Her winning jump of 1.76 meters at the Pittsburg State meet sits as the third-best mark in program history just 0.01 meters behind the MSU record (1.77m) set by Heather McFadden (1994) and Mandy Scott (1995).
Missouri State boasts 18 top-8 times/marks on the MVC performance list, including the best 4x100-meter relay time (45.89) and a 4x400-meter relay (3:59.82) that ranks seventh. The Bears carry a stellar group of sprinters that are paced by Meredith who holds the top spot in the 100m (11.43) and the 200m (23.56). Henry's 24.31 200-meter time from the Rock Chalk Classic (Apr. 30) ranks fourth and her season-opening mark at the Joey Haines Invitational in the 100m (11.91) is sixth. Weaver makes it a Bears top-7 in the 100m with her 11.93 time from the Gorilla Classic (Apr. 10) ranking seventh. Talia Emerson owns the league's seventh-best time (14.24) in the 100-meter hurdles. Sierra Williams (2:12.90) holds the No. 8 spot in the 800m. The Bears hold one of the top-two marks in four of the eight field events. Haney boasts the MVC's best high jump mark with her 1.76-meter clearance. James ranks second in the triple jump (12.30m) and sixth in the long jump (5.77m). Fellow horizontal jumpers Brooke Jenkins (6.08m), Emerson (5.95m) and Weaver (5.72m) rank first, third and seventh, respectively, among Valley long jumpers. Etienne (44.58m) and Cheyenne White (43.80m) are back-to-back in the javelin at No. 2 and No. 3 while Jaide Rose (40.69) is sixth.
On a regional scale, Meredith's 100m time ranks 23rd among NCAA Division I West runners and Haney is tied for 25th in the high jump.
Jordan Fife is in his third year as head coach and seventh overall with the program after a four-year stint as an assistant. Fife has also handled head coaching duties of the cross country team since 2014.