Lincoln women win indoor track title

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Led by women's high-point winner Sheri Kaye Campbell, the Lincoln Blue Tigers ran away with the championship of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Indoor Track and Field Championships that finished Sunday.

The Blue Tigers racked up 190.5 points to repeat as champions, as second-place Missouri Southern had 114. Host school Central Missouri and Emporia State finished tied for third with 67.5.

The rest of the field included Pittsburg State (54), Nebraska Kearney (47.5), Southwest Baptist (46.5), Northwest Missouri State (31.5), Truman State (29), Fort Hays State (23), Central Oklahoma (17) and Lindenwood (14).

During the meet, the Blue Tigers racked up several automatic and provisional qualifying standards for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, which will be held March 7-9 in Birmingham, Ala.

Campbell pulled off her feat by winning one event and finishing second in two others. She took first in the triple jump with an automatic mark of 40-41⁄4, finished second in the high jump with a provisional mark of 5-8 and finished second in the pentathlon with a provisional mark of 3,606 points.

Latoya King took first in a pair of events for the Blue Tigers. She won the 60-meter dash with an automatic mark of 7.44, which was slower than her automatic mark of 7.39 in the prelims. King also won the 200-meter dash with an automatic mark of 24.30, an event in which the Blue Tigers went 1-2-3-4-6. The Lincoln finishers following King all posted provisional marks, as Yanique Ellington was second (24.62), Donna-Lee Hylton was third (24.95), Jenea Johnson was fourth (25.12) and Tamara Keane was sixth (25.32). Both Johnson (25.10) and Keane (24.72) had quicker provisional marks in the prelims.

Twishana Williams placed in three events for Lincoln, as she won the one-mile run (5:08.68), was fourth in the 3,000-meter run (10:24.84) and was sixth in the 800-meter run (2:21.45).

Three other Blue Tigers won events. Lovan Palmer finished first in the 600-yard run by setting a building record of 1:22.43. That beat the previous mark of 1:23.45 set by Central Missouri's Lindsey Lettow at the 2011 MIAA Championships.

Also, Yanique Haye won the 400-meter dash with an automatic mark of 55.64 and Anna-Kay James won the 60-meter hurdles with a provisional mark of 8.53 after setting another provisional mark of 8.51 in the prelims.

Also for the Blue Tigers:

• Hylton was second in the 400-meter dash with a provisional mark of 55.86.

• Ellington was second in the 60-meter dash with a provisional mark of 7.56

• Cardine Copeland was third in the 60-meter dash with a provisional mark of 7.71, and was faster in the prelims with a provisional mark of 7.69.

• Juneille Barker was third in the 60-meter hurdles with a provisional mark of 8.59.

• Nickeisha Beamont was third in the long jump with a provisional mark of 18-41⁄2.

• Michelle Cumberbatch was fourth in the 400-meter dash with a provisional mark of 56.64.

• Daniele Newman was fifth in the triple jump with a provisional mark of 37-91⁄2 and tied for sixth in the high jump (5-2 1/2)

• Jonelle Campbell earned a fifth-place finish in the triple jump with a provisional mark of 37-101⁄2.

• Toni-Ann Moore was fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a provisional mark of 8.69.

• Keane was seventh in the 400-meter dash with a provisional mark of 56.75.

• Shakeisha Miller was eighth in the pentathlon (3,040).

In addition, Lincoln won the 4x440-yard relay with a provisional mark of 3:51.85 thanks to the team of Palmer, Hylton, Nicketa Coombs and Cumberbatch.

The Blue Tigers came in second in the distance medley relay with the team of Palmer, Cumberbatch, Haye and Williams.

That would have been good enough to set a meet record, beating the mark of 12:20.94 set by Emporia State in 2009, but Missouri Southern won the event with a record time of 12:16.47.

III

Also at the women's event, a pair of area athletes captured victories.

Central Missouri's Erin Alewine (Jefferson City High School) won the high jump with a provisional mark of 5-8 and was fourth in the long jump with a provisional mark of 18-41⁄4.

Melanie Bower (Linn High School) of Missouri Southern captured the pole vault crown with a provisional mark of 12-63⁄4.

III

On the men's side, Central Missouri won the title for the sixth straight season.

The Mules amassed 122.5 points to hold off Pittsburg State, which had 106.5. They were followed by Missouri Southern (94), Emporia State (87), Nebraska Kearney (67), Southwest Baptist (60), Fort Hays State (59), Lincoln (50), Northwest Missouri State (29), Truman State (16) and Lindenwood (10).

The best finish for Lincoln came when Romel Lewis won the 60-meter dash with an automatic qualifying time of 6.73.

Two Blue Tigers placed in a pair of individual events. Michael Ashley was second in the 400-meter dash with a provisional mark of 48.70 and was eighth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.79 after putting up a provisional mark of 22.11 in the prelims. Sabiel Anderson was sixth in the 60-meter hurdles with a provisional mark of 8.12 and eighth in the 400-meter dash (52.59).

Also for the Blue Tigers, Jermaine Blake was second in the 800-meter run with a provisional mark of 1:54.04, Tyrone Hawkins was third in the 600-yard run (1:13.41), Morris Henderson was seventh in the 60-meter dash (6.92) and Khorey Spalding was eighth in the 60-meter dash (7.03).

Lincoln's 4x440-yard relay foursome of Blake, Ashley, Anderson and Hawkins won with a provisional mark of 3:20.10.

III

Among the other men's competitors, a pair of former Helias Crusaders recorded top-eight results.

Central Missouri's Brent Vogel won the heptathlon with a total of 5,450 points to set a building record, beating his own mark of 5,191 set in 2011.

It also easily met the automatic qualifying mark of 5,153.

In addition, Vogel was part of the Mules' second-place team in the 4x440-yard relay that set a provisional mark of 3:21.00.

Truman State's Matthew Schaefer was fourth in the 800-meter run with a provisional mark of 1:54.93, a few ticks slower than the provisional mark of 1:54.37 he put up in the prelims. He was also part of the Bulldogs' 4x440-yard relay that finished eighth (3:27.17).