PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Missouri State track and field team recorded four personal bests Saturday at the Gorilla Classic here, including Cindy Forde who raced to a first-place finish for the Bears in the mile run at the indoor meet.
Forde took the lone first-place finish at the meet for MSU after crossing the finish line with a personal best time of 4:58.98 in the one-mile run. She is the first Bear to finish the mile in less than five minutes this season and the first since the 2012 season.
Two Bears joined Forde picking up top-five finishes. Jumper Daijha Heron leapt to a fourth-place finish in the triple jump with a best effort of 11.87 meters. Distance runner Jessica Allen snagged fifth-place in the 3,000-meter run in her first race of the indoor season, clocking in a time of 10:27.49.
Both Selena Buckner and Savannah Beaver shaved nearly a second off of their personal best times in their respective events. Buckner competed in the 800-meter run for the second time this season and second time in as many meets at Pittsburg State. After knocking five seconds off the first time, the sophomore tacked off another second to finish with a time of 2:27.85. Beaver ran to a seventh-place finish in the one-mile, crossing the line in 5:10.33.
Brittany McPike had the best showing for MSU in the throws on Saturday. McPike competed in the shot put for the second time this season, pushing a throw of 10.86 meters and collecting a personal best in the event.
Day One
The first-time quartet of Selena Buckner, Cindy Forde, Jade Raynor and Tenaly Smith tallied a season-best 12:17.68 in the distance medley relay, good for a second-place finish. A total of 10 student-athletes competed for the Bears in five individual events on the first day.
Opening the running events for MSU were freshmen Kelli Bowen and Olivia Ott, who ran season-best times of 9.93 and 10.10 seconds, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdle qualifying race. Bowen was two positions off from advancing to Saturday’s semifinals.
On the field side, Brittany McPike and Jillian Bertz each recorded personal best tosses of 14.89 meters and 13.69 meters, respectively, in the weight throw. The best showing for the Bears was in the high jump, where senior Betsy Borgsmiller leapt to a sixth-place finish with a jump of 1.59 meters.
Jumper Daijha Heron will begin Saturday’s field events for the Bears starting at 12 p.m. with the triple jump. The first running event for MSU will begin at approximately 12:55 p.m. when Tenaly Smith competes in her second one-mile race of the season.
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