CHARLESTON, Ill. – The 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships got underway Friday at the Lantz Fieldhouse on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.
 
Senior Whitley Towns found the most success of any Gamecock on the track on the opening day of the championships. The senior from Boaz, Ala., posted a time of 2.15.85 in the 800 meter dash preliminaries to finish fourth overall. Her time qualified to advance on to Saturday's finals.
 
Freshman Blake Perry had a strong run in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.07. The time beat the Cartersville, Ga., native's previous best mark in the hurdles of 9.24 set at Samford earlier this year. Junior Janisha Davis ran a 7.72 in the 60 meter dash for the 11th quickest time overall just missing the cut to advance on to Saturday.
 
In the field events, Junior Alyssa Leyendecker led the way for JSU with a top-10 performance in the weight throw. The native of St. Paul, Minnesota, had a throw of 15.20 meters topping the previous best mark of any Gamecock in the event this season.
 
Sophomore Ashley Williams just missed earning a top-10 spot with a 13^th-place finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.53 meters. 
 
Competition continues on Saturday at the Lantz Fieldhouse for the final day of the 2015 OVC Track and Field Championships.