Men’s track & field leads after day one at BIG EAST Indoors

Friday, February 22

Geneva, Ohio

ALL DAY

Marquette University

BIG EAST Championships

Photo by: John Reid

Men’s track & field leads after day one at BIG EAST Indoors

2/22/2019 4:26:00 PM | Track & Field

Day One Results (PDF)Watch Live (Saturday)Live Results

Marquette had four field event winners on the men’s and women’s sides combined

By: Communications

GENEVA, Ohio – Four Marquette University student-athletes claimed individual event titles on Friday afternoon at the 2019 BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships presented by JEEP, and the MU men's squad sits first at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

The men, who have finished as conference runner-up in each of the last four seasons, are in search of their first indoor team title, while the women's squad earned crowns in both 2016 and 2017 but came four points shy of a third team title in 2018. The MU men are currently eight points ahead of Villanova (60) with 68 points, while the women trail the Wildcats (71 points) by 17 entering Saturday.

MEET COVERAGE
Day One Results (PDF) | MU Champion Interviews | Watch Live (Saturday) | Live Results

"It was a pretty solid day one," Marquette head track and field coach Bert Rogers said. "We knew Villanova was going to be tough on both the men's and women's sides, so we have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Cameron Jemison was probably the upset among our champions, while Samuel Johnson came from behind to win the long jump. There was a lot of good stuff out of the field events with a number of qualifiers and fast times on the track. The coaches are excited with how things are going and we're looking forward to day two tomorrow."

Senior Keely Knobbe and sophomore Cameron Jemison kicked off the first day with championship marks in the women's weight throw and men's pole vault, respectively. Knobbe, who entered the meet tops in the conference in the weight throw, had her first toss of 18.01 meters (59-1.25) hold on through six rounds for the event title. Jemison sat second in the league standings prior to the meet but was the only athlete to clear the bar at 4.85 meters (15-11).

Brendan McKinney joined Knobbe as the Golden Eagles swept the weight throw crowns. He finished ahead of teammate Terrance Howard with a pair of tosses over 19 meters and a winning mark of 19.29 meters (63-3.5).

In the day's final field event, sophomore Samuel Johnson came from behind to claim the men's high jump title over Butler's Luke Russell on his penultimate jump. Johnson, who entered the meet leading the conference in the event, notched a winning distance of 7.15 meters (23-5.5).

Breanne Marchan and Rachel Seraphine also earned podium spots in the women's long jump and pole vault, respectively.

Sophomore Joe Keys scored MU six points with a third-place finish in the long jump and 2.5 points in the pole vault (sixth place). Keys (2,835 points) sits second in the men's heptathlon after the first day with the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run to be contested on Saturday.

Saturday's events kick off on the track with the women's 3,000-meter run and the women's shot put in the field events. The meet will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network through FOX Sports Go starting at 10:15 a.m. CT.

In addition to Keys, the meet's final day will be highlighted Daniel Armstrong, Marin McClowry and the MU high jumpers as well as Allie Flando and Terrance Howard in the shot put.

On the track, league-leading Ben Konopka will run the men's 60-meter hurdles while Alec Miller and Emma Moravec will run the 800 as two of MU's top qualifiers.

2019 MEN'S SCORES
1. Marquette – 68 pts.
2. Villanova – 60
3. Butler – 27
4. DePaul – 14
5. Providence – 11
6. Georgetown – 10
7. Xavier – 3

2019 WOMENS' SCORES
1. Villanova – 71 pts.
2. Marquette – 54
T3. St. John's – 26
T3. Butler – 26
5. DePaul – 23
6. Providence – 22
7. Xavier – 9
8. Georgetown – 1

MEN'S FINISHES SINCE REALIGNMENT (2014)
2018: Second (173 points)
2017: Second (135)
2016: Second (195)
2015: Second (171.5)
2014: Fourth (121)

WOMEN'S FINISHES SINCE REALIGNMENT (2014)
2018: Second (148 points)
2017: First (173.5)
2016: First (168.5)
2015: Second (133.5)
2014: Third (114)

Keep up with the Marquette men's and women's track and field programs through social media by following on Twitter (@MUTFXC) and Instagram (@MUTFXC) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MUTFXC).