 CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Evansville men’s and women’s track and field teams wrapped-up their indoor seasons on Sunday afternoon in the second and final day of the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
At the championships, the Aces’ women’s team recorded one point, finishing in ninth-place of the 10-team field, while Evansville’s men’s team came in ninth.
The Aces’ women scored the first team points in an MVC Championship in program history in the women’s 4×400 meter relay. Freshmen Lizzy Walston and Lauren Meyer, junior Sienna Crews, and senior JBess Ruby led the Aces to an eighth-place finish in the nine-team field, breaking the program record by nearly 10 seconds in the process, earning a point for the Aces.
Following up a strong effort by the Aces’ women in the 4×400 meter relay, Evansville’s men also had success in the relay. The relay team of freshmen Stanley Chepchieng, Ethan Price, Ricky Hendrix, and Ian Alberts earned a ninth-place finish narrowly missing the program record set in 1983 by just seven one-thousandths of a second with a time of 3:34.42. The Aces’ time of 3:34.42 was less than 20 seconds out of third place.
In the women’s shot put, freshman Brittany Corley was the lone Aces to compete, finishing in 19th with a throw of 8.72 meters. On the men’s side, junior Ryan Freeman led the way for Evansville with a 16th-place finish with a throw of 12.72 meters, besting his own program record. Following Freeman was sophomore Chris Zapata with a throw of 11.62 meters, finishing in 17th.
Illinois State swept both the men’s and women’s MVC indoor track and field championships with Indiana State’s men’s and women’s teams both finishing second and UNI’s men and Southern Illinois’ women coming in second.
Both men’s and women’s track and field teams now shift their focus to the upcoming start of the outdoor season. The Aces open up their first outdoor track and field campaign in 33 seasons when they travel to Indianapolis to compete in the Stan Lyons Invitational on March 17 hosted by Butler.
