CARBONDALE, Ill. – Madison Meredith won both the 100- and 200-meter dash as part of a three-title day for the senior sprinter to boost Missouri State track and field to a fourth-place finish in the team standings here at the final day of the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship.
 
Overall, the Bears posted five all-conference performances and collected 18 top-8 finishes to total 86 points for its best outing at the outdoor championship since the 2015 team placed fourth as well.    
 
Illinois State amassed 232 points to set a championship record for team scoring and claimed its third straight Valley title while the hosts, Southern Illinois (143) finished in second.  MSU went back-and-forth with Indiana State (93) in the final day of competition before the Sycamores secured their third-place spot by finishing fifth in the 4x400-meter relay to close out the MVC meet.
 
"We didn't quite have the weekend we were capable of having, but we had a lot of people step up to carry us to fourth place, which is our best finish since 2015," said Bears head coach Jordan Fife.  "Madi (Meredith) had the target on her back in the 100m and 200m and she managed to take everyone's best shot and still come out victorious."
 
The MSU 4x100-meter relay team of Meredith, Nakaja Weaver, Timeka Jordan and Calandra Henry opened the track events of the Sunday finale with a title-clinching performance as the Bears quartet were first to the finish line and completed a combined lap around the track in a season-best time of 45.32.
 
It was the program's 12th MVC title – and first since 2016 – in the 4x100, which is the most all-time among Valley teams and snapped SIU's three-year winning streak.
 
Meredith captured her first individual title of the afternoon with the 100m.  She clocked a season-best time of 11.43 to distance herself from the group that also included teammate Weaver (12.01) who came in seventh.
 
Then, Meredith (23.46) went on to edge out SIU's Iaunia Pointer (23.54) in the 200m to complete her sweep of the sprints and bag her third gold medal of the outdoor competition.
 
In her first season with the Bears, Meredith has won five events at a league championship as she backed up her indoor titles in the sprints – 60m and 200m – with a trio of first-place finishes from today's finale.  She became the first Bear to win both sprint races at an outdoor championship since Marissa Kurtimah accomplished the feat in back-to-back MVC meets in 2016 and 2017.
 
Freshman Sierra Williams punctuated her debut season with Missouri State with a fourth-place showing in the 1500-meter run as she recorded a personal-best time of 4:30.57.  Edna Dar (4:33.70) took sixth in the race as she joined her teammate in setting a season-high mark in the event.
 
Williams and Dar went on to score points for MSU in the 800-meter run as well.  The Bears duo finished back-to-back with Dar's 2:12.51 pace sticking her in sixth while Williams came in right behind her in seventh at the 2:14.78 point.
 
Jamilah James marked a distance of 12.18 meters to place fifth in the triple jump.
 
After earning her first all-conference honor with a bronze medal in the long jump on Saturday, Talia Emerson (14.24) finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles.
 
"Jamilah (James) had a solid series in the triple jump this morning to get us started and then the big energy boost came when the 4x100 took the title and ran a season best," added Fife.  "That momentum spilled over to Edna (Dar) and Sierra (Williams) who battled all day for much-needed points in the 1500m and 800m.  Talia (Emerson) ran a great hurdle race against a really tough field and Nakaja (Weaver) earned some great experience in the 100m final for future championships."
 
Meredith made it a four-event day as she ran the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay and joined Williams, Dar and Mackenzie Ihasz in running a season-high time of 3:51.60 to add the final two points of MSU's outing at the championship.
 
Team Results
1. Illinois State 232
2. Southern Illinois 143
3. Indiana State 93
4. Missouri State 86
5. Northern Iowa 82
6. Loyola 68
7. Drake 52
8. Bradley 51
9. Evansville 11
10. Valparaiso 1