Southeast Missouri State roundup: Redhawks men's track team finishes second at OVC indoor meet

The Southeast Missouri State men's track and field team came up short in its bid for the Ohio Valley Conference indoor title.

Southeast held the lead after Friday's opening round of competition in Nashville, Tenn., but Eastern Illinois stormed back Saturday.

EIU captured its fourth straight OVC indoor championship with 196 points. Southeast was second in the four-team meet with 112 points.

Southeast's women were fifth among eight squads with 74 points. EIU's women also claimed their fourth consecutive title with 149.5 points.

"I was proud of the way everyone competed," Southeast coach Eric Crumpecker said. "Our freshman really stepped up and they know what the conference meet is all about now."

Southeast captured three individual titles.

Senior thrower Josh Uchtman, the OVC indoor male field athlete of the year, won his third career shot put title.

Uchtman, the school record-holder in the event both indoors and outdoors, had a distance of 57 feet, 11 3/4 inches.

Freshman Jacob Kent, the OVC indoor male co-freshman of the year, won the high jump with a career-best 6-10 1/4 that ranks ninth on the program's all-time list.

On the women's side, freshman Jessica Brown claimed the long jump. She tied her career best with 19-0 1/2.

Uchtman, Kent and Brown all earned first-team all-OVC honors.

The Redhawks garnered six second-team all-OVC picks, four on the men's side and two by the women. All those athletes placed second in their respective events.

Men's second-team all-OVC performers were freshman Kevin Farley (shot put), junior Craig Robinson (weight throw), freshman Reggie Miller Jr. (long jump) and freshman Mohamed Souleiman (800 meters).

Nabbing second-team all-OVC for the women were juniors Shemeika Brewer (triple jump) and Jerika Lewis (400 meters).

Among Southeast athletes finishing third individually were two local high school graduates: junior Jill Schnurbusch from Notre Dame, who owns the school pole vault record, and freshman Blake Smith from Jackson in the long jump.

The Redhawks now will turn their attention to the outdoor season, including the OVC championship meet that Southeast will host.

"We just got to get back to work and get ready for the outdoor season. We are excited to host the outdoor championships in May," Crumpecker said.

OVC indoor track

MEN

Team scores -- 1. Eastern Illinois 196; 2. Southeast 112; 3. Eastern Kentucky 94; 4. Tennessee State 87.

Southeast results

(Point scorers)

55 meters -- 6. Blake Smith, 6.59.

800 -- 2. Mohamed Souleiman, 1:52.54.

Mile -- 5. Alex Zisser, 4:16.91.

3,000 -- 3. Chris Loseman, 8:39.24.

5,000 -- 5. Chris Loseman, 14:58.81; 6. Tyler Mullen, 15:30.80.

55 hurdles -- 6. Prentice Ivy, 8.06.

1,600 relay -- 3. (Alexander Anderson, Souleiman, Max Wieser, Curt Wood), 3:26.07.

Distance medley relay -- 3. (Souleiman, Wieser, Wood, Zisser), 10:30.27.

High jump -- 1. Jacob Kent, 6-10 1/4; 4. Reggie Miller Jr., 6-4.

Pole vault -- 4. Jeff Wilfong; 5. John Musgrove.

Long jump -- 3. Blake Smith, 23-8 3/4.

Triple jump -- 2. Miller Jr., 47-1 1/4; 3. Blake Carter, 46-9 3/4.

Shot put -- 1. Josh Uchtman, 57-11 3/4; 2. Kevin Farley, 55-2 3/4; 4. Craig Robinson, 52-5 1/2; 6. Steve Hendry, 46-3 1/2.

Weight throw -- 2. Robinson, 61-3 1/4; 3. Uchtman, 59-5 1/2; 5. Hendry; 6. Jared Siemers.

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WOMEN

Team scores -- 1. Eastern Illinois 149.5; 2. Eastern Kentucky 101; 3. Jacksonville State 86; 4. Tennessee State 83; 5. Southeast 74; 6. Murray State 63; 7. Austin Peay 62.5; 8. Tennessee Tech 3.

Southeast results

(Point scorers)

55 meters -- 5. Angelica Larrier, 7.21.

200 -- 5. Jerika Lewis, 25.18.

400 -- Lewis, 56.29.

3,000 -- 3. Jessica Bollinger, 10:11.60.

5,000 -- 7. Jessica Bollinger, 18:13.86.

55 hurdles -- 7. Unique Hooks, 8.50.

1,600 relay -- 4. (Larrier, Tianna Borner, Lewis, Magan Edwards), 3:52.23.

Distance medley relay -- 4. (Mary Dohogne, Edwards, Tiffany Mead, Jennifer Govero), 12:36.91.

Pole vault -- 3. Jill Schnurbusch, 12-5; 4. Erica Grajales.

Long jump -- 3. Jessica Brown, 19-0 1/2; Shemeika Brewer, 18-10 1/2.

Triple jump -- 2. Shemeika Brewer, 39-6 1/3.

Shot put -- 6. Courtney Gapelu, 40-6 3/4.

Softball

Southeast lost its first three games at the Blues City Classic in Memphis, Tenn.

The Redhawks fell to Miami (Ohio) 6-2 and Western Illinois 12-4 in five innings during Friday's action, then dropped a 2-1 decision to Northern Iowa on Saturday.

Southeast faced Missouri State late Saturday night. The result was not available at press time.

Evan Sallis had two of Southeast's six hits against Miami. Shea Cothren suffered the loss. She allowed two runs and eight hits over four innings.

Southeast again had six hits against Western Illinois. No player had more than one. Brittany Smith had two RBIs. Alora Marble gave up nine earned runs and 11 hits over three innings to take the loss.

The Redhawks had just three hits against Northern Iowa. Cothren was the tough-luck loser. She allowed two runs and four hits in going the seven-inning distance.

Southeast ends the tournament today with a game against host Memphis.

Tennis

Southeast dropped its second straight match by one point when the Redhawks lost to South Dakota 4-3 on Saturday in Peoria, Ill.

Southeast (0-3) and South Dakota (4-3) were tied 3-3 in singles play, but the Coyotes won the doubles point to secure the victory.

The Redhawks got singles wins from No. 1 Nikole Novikova, No. 2 Elizabeth Nyenwe and No. 4 Melissa Martin, who remained undefeated.

Southeast plays host Bradley today.

Singles

No. 1 -- Nikole Novikova (SE) def. Michelle Elkin 6-2, 6-0

No. 2 -- Elizabeth Nyenwe (SE) def. Alena Sergeychik 6-2, 6-0

No. 3 -- Shadi Soleymani (SD) def. Jessica Courtnell 7-6, 1-6, 6-2

No. 4 -- Melissa Martin (SE) def. Nina Barudzio 6-4, 6-1

No. 5 -- Veronika Makashov (SD) def. Heather Robinson 6-2, 6-3

No. 6 -- Yamini Reddy (SD) def. Laura Garcia (SE) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles

No. 1 -- Sergeychik/Soleymani (SD) def. Novikova/Nyenwe 8-7

No. 2 -- Barudzio/Elkin (SD) def. Courtnell/Martin 8-6

No. 3 -- Makashov/Reddy (SD) def. Robinson/Garcia 8-0

-- From staff reports