SEMO Track & Field sweeps OVC championships

Southeast Missouri swept the men's and women's Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships last weekend in Edwardsville, IL.

This is the fifth time both teams have won the OVC in the same year and the first time since the 2014 season. SEMO head coach Eric Crumpecker, who was named OVC Coach of the Year, said he was proud of the way both teams performed.

“I'm just proud of the way both teams showed up and competed because it's pretty rare that you come in here and you win both the men’s and women’s at the same time. We've done it a couple of times in the 32 years we've been in the conference,” Crumpecker said. “I was just happy with what everybody did and they all should be proud of what they did this weekend.”

Clara Billing was named OVC Female Freshman of the Year, Brianna Miles claimed OVC Female Track Athlete of the Year and Dylan Clark was tabbed OVC Male Field Athlete of the Year.

Individual champions included senior Luke Hatfield-Jackson in the high jump, freshman Tanner Koontz in the pole vault, sophomore Marshall Swadley in the shotput, graduate student Parker Feuerborn in the weight throw, junior Taylor Fox in the 800-meter and mile, graduate student Katie Weggmann in the 3000-meter, the women’s team in the distance medley relay, Billing in the pole vault and graduate student Piper Clinger in the weight throw.

Although the individual championships are important, at the end of the day track and field is a team sport. Crumpecker said on the men’s side they needed every point they got in order to win and he was proud to see everyone work together.

“Every point we got got us there because we won by two points. Going to the mile relay, we were down three points and the relay coming through to win and at the end sent us over the top,” Crumpecker said. “It took everybody, an all hands on deck kind of thing. We always try to stress that with all of them, so it's just really rewarding to see everybody come together. They were all just so happy for each other and just couldn't be more proud of them.”

The amount of Redhawk athletes headed to the NCAA West Regionals in Sacramento, CA is still unknown, Crumpecker said the team would know possibly early on Thursday.