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Throws coach John Smith said he was happy with the "damage" his throwers have done this season.

The Salukis placed top-5 finishers in the men's and women's weight throw and shot put events Saturday at the Indiana Relays, a two-day event that involved more than 30 teams including DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Indiana and Notre Dame. Smith said he was most impressed with how the Salukis performed on the event's second day.

"These guys are in good throwing shape," Smith said. "When you're in good throwing shape, you can come back two days in a row and maintain a high level."

Senior Joe Mueller said his hard work is paying off as he posted a first-place finish with a throw that measured almost 62 feet.

"It wasn't very pretty," Mueller said. "But it turned out to go pretty far."

Teammate Brenton Siemons placed second in the weight throw and finished first in the shot put. Sophomore teammate Tom Smith, a Bloomington, Ind., native, set personal records in the weight throw and shot put.

Overall, 12 Salukis qualified for finals in their respective events. Freshmen Jeff Schirmer and Brandon Deloney led the SIU runners. Schirmer won the 3,000-meter run, while Deloney finished second in the 200-meter dash.

Smith said his throwers were dominant and credited their success to their performance in practice. He credited the Salukis' weekly improvement to throwing heavier and harder than other schools.

Junior Ryan Shumaker also set personal records at the Indiana Relays and attributed his steady improvement to feeding off his teammates.

"One person has a big throw and everyone else wants to back it," Shumaker said. "I'm going against some of the best in the Missouri Valley in practice every day."

Luis C. Medina can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 238 or lcm1986@siu.edu.

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