SPRINGFIELD - At the halfway point in the outdoor season, the Missouri State track and field team will compete at the Tom Botts Invitational on the campus of the University of Missouri this weekend. Distance events - 3000-meter steeplechase, 1,500-meter run, 5,000-meter run, and the 10,000-meter run - will start track events Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. while the women's hammer throw is scheduled to follow the men's hammer throw which begins at 4:30 p.m.

Keeping Track of the Bears

• The Bears finished second out of 13 at the Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. last weekend with 122 points behind host and Valley foe Indiana State, who accumulated 124.5 total points.
• Hurdlers Oarabile Babolayi, Holly Pattie-Belleli, and Shani Adams were able to tally 42 points in two events for MSU at the Gibson Invitational. Pattie-Belleli took first in the 100-meter hurdles while Babolayi followed closely behind, each clocking in season-best times of 13.84 and 13.93 seconds, respectively. In the 400-meter hurdles, it was Babolayi beating out Pattie-Belleli, crossing the line in a time of 1:00.21. Adams would round out the Bears' showing in the 400-meter hurdles with a third-place finish.
• Shavonne Husbands, Marissa Kurtimah, and Asha Cave recorded an impressive 37 points for the Bears in two events - 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash - this weekend. Husbands currently leads the league in both events while ranking 23^rd and 26^th in the NCAA West Region in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, respectively.
• Four Bears - Robiann Broomfield, Daijha Heron, Holly Pattie-Belleli and Betsy Borgsmiller - added 30 points to MSU's team total in three jumping events - long jump, triple jump, and high jump. Broomfield's season-best mark of 12.34 meters in the triple jump places her at the top in the MVC and 36^th in the NCAA West Region.
• Freshman Jade Raynor took 10 seconds off of her personal best 1,500-meter run time at the Gibson Invitational after finishing 9^th in the event with a time of 4:47.01. She currently holds the fastest time in the event on the 2015-16 roster for MSU.
• The 4x400-meter relay quartet of Shani Adams, Oarabile Babolayi, Shavonne Husbands, and Kadisha Francois broke the facility and meet record at the Gibson Invitational after clocking in a first-place time of 3:41.40. This time currently leads the MVC and ranks 34^th in the NCAA West Region.
• Thrower Melanie Raterman leads the team in all three throwing events that she regularly competes in - discus throw, hammer throw and javelin. The junior broke her own school record earlier in the season with a mark of 52.47 meters. She has now broken the school record in the event each year she has competed.
• A total of 10 student-athletes currently hold top-five times or distances in the MVC in their respective events. Shavonne Husbands and Marissa Kurtimah each hold the first and second spots, respectively, in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Kadisha Francois and Melanie Raterman also hold top-five marks in two events apiece.

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