Weekly Notebook (PDF)

Male Track
Haran Dunderdale, Sr., Bradley (Grantham, England)
Haran Dunderdale led the Braves during the weekend at Raleigh Relays. Competing against some of the nation’s top competition, Dunderdale finished second of 58 runners in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 8:50.95 with the 2018 Valley champion in the event just missing his PR by five hundredths of a second. He also owns the top time in the conference this season by nearly 10 seconds and the 18th-best nationally.
 
Notables: Jack Anstey, Illinois State; Matthew Lewis-Banks, Indiana State; Riley DeMeulenaere, Loyola; Josh Maier, Southern Illinois
 
Male Field
Eric Burns, Jr., Loyola (New Carlisle, Ind.)
Loyola junior Eric Burns extended his Missouri Valley Conference lead in the long jump at the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas.  The Valley’s reigning indoor champion in the event, Burns used a leap of 24-03.75 (7.41m) to claim a seventh-place finish.  His jump from this past weekend has moved him into a tie for 12th place on the NCAA West Region’s long jump leaderboard.
 
Notables: Logan Calvin, Illinois State; Sam Overton, Indiana State; Isaac Holtz, UNI; Adam Kessler, Southern Illinois
 
Female Track
Bri’Anna Branch, Sr., Southern Illinois (Chicago, Ill.)
Bri’Anna Branch clocked two top MVC times in consecutive days this past weekend. She opened with a season-best time in the 100m dash at the Texas Relays in which she ran 11.71 to finish fifth in her heat and 21st overall. The following day at the Bobcat Invitational, Branch set a huge PR in the 200m dash at 23.19 and was the top collegiate finisher in a field of 87 runners. She now leads the MVC in both the 100m and 200m dashes and ranks sixth in the NCAA West Region in the 200m.
 
Notables: McKenzie Altmayer, Bradley; Victoria Coombe, Drake; Grace Beattie, Illinois State; Ayanna Morgan, Indiana State; Lindsey Brewis, Loyola; Grace Breiten, Missouri State
 
Female Field
Sydney Laufenberg, Jr., Illinois State (Clinton, Iowa)
At Saturday’s Ole Miss Classic, Laufenberg, the reigning back-to-back MVC Champion in the discus, added another accomplishment to her resume: the Illinois State school record. Laufenberg didn’t just break Angie Joy’s previous school record of 55.17m (181-00) from 1998, she shattered it, surpassing this mark by over a meter. Laufenberg ultimately won the competition with a heave of 56.99m (187-00), engraving her name on ISU’s record board. Not only does Laufenberg’s distance lead the Valley, but it ranks sixth in the NCAA West Region and seventh in the nation. In addition, Laufenberg also recorded a lifetime personal-best in the hammer throw (53.16m/174-05), a mark which sits seventh in the MVC and 67th in the NCAA West Region.
 
Notables: Lexie Chapman, Drake; Erin Reese, Indiana State; Mackenzie Arnold, Loyola; Jamilah James, Missouri State; Shauniece O’Neal, Southern Illinois