2021-22 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI TRACK & FIELD GUIDE 2021 OVC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONS
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outheast Missouri women’s track & field captured the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship May 15, 2021 at O’Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois, with 148 total points. The SEMO men finished second overall with 172 points behind host Eastern Illinois who totaled 197.5. The outdoor Championship was the 10th in program history for the SEMO women and the first title since 2014. Kaitlyn Shea was named the OVC Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and Donald Hatfield Jackson was awarded OVC Men’s Athlete of the Championship at the conclusion of the meet. Head coach Eric Crumpecker was tabbed the OVC Women’s Coach of the Year. It marked his first career honor on the women’s outdoor side and the ninth OVC Women’s Coach of the Year for
SEMO. The SEMO women won four Gold medals in the final day of the Championship. Carli Knott successfully defended her 1,500 meters Championship, taking Gold Saturday in 4:27.07. Knott had previously also won the event at the 2019 OVC Championship in Cape Girardeau. Shea finished third for Bronze with a time of 4:33.11. Brianna Payton tallied a finish of 4:52.39 (10th) and Taylor Fox followed in 5:11.01 (12th). Shea then won Gold in the 5,000 meters, her second of the 2021 Championship and third medal of the weekend. Shea captured first in the second of two heats in 17:00.60 and crossed the finish line 19 seconds ahead of Eastern Kentucky’s Jeanne Charat Reix, the 2021 OVC Silver Medalist. Knott won the opening heat in
17:37.32 for fourth overall in the race. Shea and Knott’s finishes in the 5,000 meters solidified the Championship with a 15-point SEMO swing in the event. Katie Wegmann and Knott combined for a top-two finish in the 800 meters. Wegmann and Knott secured Gold and Silver, respectively, making their decisive moves in the final 100 meters of the race. Wegmann won the event in 2:12.38 and Knott followed in 2:12.48 for her second medal of the day. Wegmann is the first SEMO runner to win the 800 meters Championship since Brooke Woodruff in 2004. Claire Morrill was clocked at 2:14.17 for sixth as three Redhawks scored in the 800 meters. Kendall Long took first in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.98 for Gold. Long is the first SEMO athlete to win the OVC 400-meter hurdles Championship since Miya Dorsey in 2017.
2021 OVC WOMEN’S OUTDOOR CHAMPIONS
Serena Williams finished third overall in the triple jump to garner Bronze. Ciara Potter also scored for the Redhawks with a mark of 36-11 (11.25m, seventh). Jaden Kight secured Bronze in the javelin. The Whitewater, Missouri native, registered a personal-best throw of 136-9 (41.68m) in her fourth attempt for third overall in the field event. Nicole Humphreys tallied a personal-best shot put mark of 44-3.25 (13.49m) for fifth overall. Kristen Carter crossed the finish of the women’s 100-meter hurdles in 14.50 (seventh) to score for the Redhawks. Serena Williams posted a time of 12.10 (eighth) in the 100 meters to add to the SEMO women’s total.
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