March 12, 2021

Tyler, Salazar Win MVP Titles at Heartland Athletic Championship

Alexandria Collins

During the Heartland Athletic championship on Feb. 20, two MU students nabbed two MVP titles.

Junior Kelsey Tyler placed first in the 5000 meters with the time of 19:25.17, first in the 3000 meters with the time of 11:10.97, then finally taking home the 2021 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Indoor Track MVP.

Tyler added that her toughest competition is her own teammates. “Our distance girls are dominant in our conference,” she said. “We don’t necessarily compete against each other, but rather work together and root for one another."

Although the coronavirus has taken a toll on many sports teams, Tyler voiced how the virus impacted her season thus far, “Our distance runners have been lucky, as we can still carry on as normal because we just need roads to run on,” she said. “It’s pretty easy for us to get our jobs done, of course with masks and social distancing once we are together.”

Tyler thinks the distance team will once again be dominant in the outdoor season, and says they are “looking strong as always,” as she put it.

Sophomore Enrique Salazar (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) also took home the title of MVP for the 2021 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track shortly after winning a pair of individual races.

Salazar won first place for the 5000 meters with a time of 15:45.18, as well as the 3000 meters with the top time of 9:02.10. He was ecstatic after hearing he won the award, as he likes to think of himself as humble. “I am always incredibly humble with my gift,” he said. “I felt such an overwhelming sense of happiness and knew my hard work has finally paid off.”

From here, Salazar still has Cross Country left, but has high hopes for the spring outdoor season as his teammates are also working hard and are a great support system for him.

These two athletes’ efforts were a big factor in helping the Spartans win the title of runner up for women’s indoor track & field team in Terre Haute.

The Lady Spartans fell short to Rose-Hulman that weekend as Rose-Hulman scored a total of 189 points and Manchester scored 137 points. Falling behind Manchester, Hanover took third as the team scored 100 points. Although the Spartans placed second, they had the honor of having the highest team total since 2000.

The men’s team also fell short to Rose-Hulman as Rose-Hulman scored 194 points and the Spartans scoring 104.5, also being the highest team total in about a decade for the men’s team. Defiance then placed third with a total of 66 points.

The weekend of Feb 27, Manchester University Spartans Men’s team fell short to Depauw and Wabash at Depauw University during the last indoor track meet of the season, scoring 30 points. The women also lost to Depauw University during their one-on-one matchup with a score of 74-59.

Spring Outdoor Track and Field is getting ready to prepare for their season as the schedule is still in progress.