Meet Results (PDF)
NORMAL, Ill. – In a script nearly identical to the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, Calandra Henry raced her way to two medals at the outdoor championships here Sunday afternoon, earning second and third place finishes in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash.
The senior sprinter started the day off racing in the 100-meter finals, where she raced her way to a runner-up finish and a silver medal with a time of 11.56 seconds, just .06 off her fastest time. Next up for Henry was the 200-meter dash. After qualifying with the fifth-fastest time on Friday, the Clarksville, Tenn., native muscled out a third-place finish in the event, ending with a time of 24.10.
Henry was also part of a 4x100 team along with Charity Obazughanmwen, Nakaja Weaver and Felicity Watkins that finished fifth, grabbing four team points with a time of 46.20.
"We knew coming in that fifth through 9th was going to be a battle and that every point would matter, and that's exactly what happened. We had some places where the athletes really stepped up their performances and a few places where we didn't quite do what we needed to do, but that's the nature of a championship meet," said head coach Jordan Fife.
After qualifying for the 400-meter hurdles in seventh place, Meghan Halstead raced a huge lifetime best in the event finals, finishing in fourth place (1:01.82).
Representing the Bears in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter run finals, Edna Dar finished in sixth and ninth place, respectively, racing times of 2:13.77 and 4:37.52 to cap off her senior campaign.
In Sunday's 5,000-meter run, Shelby Palmer and Margo Nea competed for MSU, finishing 23rd (18:09.98) and 25th (18:28.37), respectively.
After her podium-worthy performance in the long jump Saturday, Brooke Jenkins was back in action on the final day of the championships, finishing in ninth place in the triple jump (11.24m). Kate Anderson finished in 13th place in the event with a distance of 9.92 meters.
The Bears capped the day off competing in the 4x400-meter relay, where the team of Halstead, Henry, Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck and Claudrice McKoy finished seventh (2:57.13).
The Bears finished the championships in eighth place with 51 points. Illinois State finished as the conference champions with 205 points while Murray State (128) and Indiana State (115) rounded out the top three.
"I'm happy with the way the team fought all the way to the very last event. We have a lot to look forward to next year as we work to improve our standing in the conference," finished Fife.
Full Team Standings:
1. Illinois State (205)
2. Murray State (128)
3. Indiana State (115)
4. UNI (87)
5. SIU (68)
6. Bradley (58)
7. Belmont (56)
8. Missouri State (51)
9. Drake (49)
10. UIC (2)
11. Valparaiso (0)
11. Evansville (0)
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