CMSU senior Lori Pitz claimed her third straight MIAA Heptathlon championship Monday. (Photo by Dave Kopp)

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Lori Pitz secured her third consecutive MIAA Heptathlon championship Monday, helping Central Missouri State take the early lead in the conference track and field championships. The senior led a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Jennies in the first "event" of the MIAA meet, the rest of which will take place this weekend in Emporia, Kan.

Cameron Babb of Emporia State claimed the Decathlon title. Freshman Casey Canada put Central Missouri on the board in the event with a sixth place finish.

Entering the final three events, Pitz held a commanding lead and simply set about trying to maintain it. She did just that, finishing second in the long jump, fourth in the javelin and second in the 800-meter run to finish with 4,874 points.

CMSU's Cody Varner (right) won the 800-meter run to secure second place behind teammate Lori Pitz (left) in the MIAA Heptathlon. (Photo by Dave Kopp)

"It feels good to win it three years in a row," Pitz said. "I prepped myself to do it and it's a good goal to accomplish."

"I'm satisfied because we came her to win, first and foremost," added CMSU co-head coach Kip Janvrin. "She did that and is a three-time conference champ. Very few people can say that. Maybe she didn't perform at the level she wanted, but her events are getting better and she's getting more consistent and that's what it takes to be a good multi eventer."

In the final event, Pitz paced teammates Cody Varner, Anne Carlson and Haley Morrissey to help them solidify the Jennies' hold on the second, third and fourth spots. Varner won the event and passed Carlson for second place (4,539-4,433) while Morrissey posted a career best 4,147 for fourth place.

For Pitz, the MIAA title is an important step toward a bigger goal.

CMSU's Anne Carlson won the long jump at the MIAA Heptathlon Monday. The freshman placed third in the event. (Photo by Dave Kopp)

"It was important to win it, but it's something to use as training for nationals because that's my main goal, to be a national champ," Pitz said. "I knew if I had all my events in place, I would get the MIAA championship."

The first-through-fourth finish for the Jennies puts them in the driver's seat at the conference meet. CMSU claimed 28 of the event's 31 points.

"That was huge," Janvrin said. "I told the girls all along that we could do that. It sets a tone for the conference meet this coming weekend. I felt really confident in our top three and the one I was worried about was Haley. She stepped up and got a personal best performance and I'm really excited for her. She's moving in the right direction and it's just a big win for all four of them."

"This event and high jump are really going to determine our championship chances because we need 50 points out of the two events," Pitz noted. "Hopefully, we'll get that."

Mules' freshman Casey Canada won the 1,500-meter run and moved up to sixth place in the MIAA Decathlon Monday. (Photo by Dave Kopp)

In the Decathlon, Central Missouri's Canada and Kevin Uhl started strongly, each moving up a spot, into sixth and seventh respectively, with their efforts in the 110-meter hurdles. Canada finished third in the event in 15.69 seconds.

Uhl put his strongest mark of the day on the table in the pole vault, clearing 12 feet, 3 1/2 inches to win the event.

Canada closed out the meet with a victory in the 1,500-meter run to finish with 5,634 points, good for sixth place and one team point in the MIAA Championships. Uhl placed seventh with a personal best score of 5,220.

"We just started working with Casey a couple of weeks ago, but I knew there was an opportunity to score," Janvrin said. "He did the things necessary to get that point. I'm equally happy for Kevin because he had a personal best and competed very well. He's made great progress throughout the whole year."

Central Missouri's Kevin Uhl cleared 12-3 1/2 to win the pole vault Tuesday at the MIAA Decathlon. (Photo by Dave Kopp)

Babb won the event with 6,595 points. Courtland Ingram of Northwest Missouri State was second with 6,508.

The MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be run May 6-7 at Emporia, Kan.