Southeast track and field team to hold OVC championships

Home field could be an advantage for the Southeast Missouri State University track and field team when it hosts the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.

"Home-field advantage is just so much more adrenaline," said Southeast thrower Craig Robinson, who competes in the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin events. "You're used to the ring you're throwing out of, so you don't have to worry going to the ring and whether it's slick or slow. You're used to throwing here every day. You practice here. This is your spot. You have the home crowd here that will keep you going."

"We got to protect our house, and we are used to this track, and I feel like since we are home that's going to give us an advantage," Southeast sprinter Angelica Larrier said.

Twenty Southeast athletes and the 4x100-meter relay team set their season bests at the Joey Haines Invitational on April 6-7, which was Southeast's home outdoor meet this season.

Southeast will host the championship on Friday and Saturday at the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex. Southeast, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State and Tennessee State will send a men's and women's team to the meet, while Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Murray State and Tennessee Tech have only a women's team to send.

Southeast and Eastern Illinois women's teams each have 13 athletes and a relay team in the top three of the OVC Performance List, which is more than all other OVC teams.

The OVC Performance List is a ranking of the top times or distance in each event compiled throughout the season.

In the OVC Championship a first-place finish awards a team 10 points and a second-place finish awards eight points. A third-place finish usually awards six points but varies based on the event. A minimum of the top six places in each event will earn at least one point for a team.

"I feel like on the women's side, we are going to win," Larrier said. "If we do a little bit better than what we've been doing, I think we'll be OK. I feel like I'm going to hopefully win the 100 and hopefully place in the top three for the [200]."

Larrier is second on the OVC Performance List in the 100 and third in the 200. Senior Jessica Bollinger is first in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs.

Eastern Illinois has two of the top three athletes in the conference in the 3000-meter steeplechase, high jump and pole vault events, according to the performance list.

Eastern Illinois is the favorite to win the meet on the men's side. The Panthers have athletes ranked in the top three in all but four events on the OVC Performance List. Of the teams participating in the meet, the Panthers have the top three performers in the 100, 400 and 800-meter dashes and have the top 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

OVC member SIU Edwardsville has athletes in the top three of some events but will not participate in the conference meet. The school is completing its certification process to NCAA Division I sports and will be eligible to compete in next year's championships.

The Redhawks have the top three performers in the shot put and have at least one in the top three in the discus, hammer and javelin events. Robinson is second in the shot put and third in the hammer. Freshman Kevin Farley is first in the shot put and third in the discuss.

Eastern Illinois is the defending OVC men's and women's champion. Southeast finished second in both competitions last year.