April 28, 2016

SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State sprinters and throwers travel to the Jace LaCoste Invitational on the campus of Mississippi State Saturday with two weeks left of the outdoor regular season. The hammer throw will begin field events at 8 a.m. and running events are slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. with the 4x100-meter relay. Meanwhile, a group of seven distance runners will travel to the campus of Missouri Southern on Friday.

Missouri State Track and Field at the Jace LaCoste Invitational
April 30, 2016	Mike Sanders Track Complex, Starkville, Miss.
Location	Mike Sanders Track Complex | Starkville, Miss.
Meet Information	Meet Information (Jace LaCoste) | Meet Information (MSSU)
MissouriStateBears.com	Track and Field Homepage
Connect	@MissouriStBears | @MSUBearsTrackXC | Bears on Facebook |Bears on Instagram | #MSUBears |

Keeping Track of the Bears

• An astonishing 34 personal bests were recorded by 23 Bears in 13 individual events at Allison South Stadium at the Missouri State Invitational (April 22). That is the most improvement shown in a single meet all season.
• The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Monday (April 25) in its weekly rankings that the Jace LaCoste Invitational host, Mississippi State, has the No. 14 Division I women's program in the nation. Other notable schools that are scheduled to be in attendance this weekend include Florida State, Southern Miss, and UAB.
• Shavonne Husbands and Marissa Kurtimah clocked in nearly identical times in the 200-meter dash at the Missouri State Invitational (April 22) to break a 20-year-old school record time of 23.34 in the event. Husbands (23.112) ultimately edged Kurtimah (23.115) but both student-athletes will have their name etched into the MSU record book for finishing the event in 23.12 seconds.
• Most recently at the Missouri State Invitational, Melanie Raterman broke the MSU hammer throw record for the second time in the 2016 outdoor season after recording a mark of 53.20 meters. The junior has broken the record in each season she has competed for the Bears. Raterman holds the top spot on the team in three of the four throwing events.
• Georgia Richardson broke her own MSU school record in the pole vault at the Missouri State Invitational after clearing 3.66 meters, passing her old mark of 3.62 meters that she recorded at the 2015 MVC Outdoor Championships. Richardson holds the indoor and outdoor MSU records in the event.
• At the MVC Outdoor Championships, the top-8 finishers collect points towards their team total. At this point in the season, a total of 11 MSU student-athletes currently hold top-8 times or distances in the MVC. Holly Pattie-Belleli sits in the top-8 in four events - 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, and the heptathlon - which is currently the most of any Bear.
• Missouri State's 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay squads lead the league this outdoor season after finishing with times of 45.36 seconds and 3:41.13, respectively. Illinois State follows closely behind in both events with times of 45.53 seconds and 3:43.16, respectively.
• Robiann Broomfield tallied two first-place finishes for the Bears in the first home meet at Allison South Stadium this weekend in the long jump (5.92 meters) and triple jump (12.57 meters). Her season-best marks are currently first (triple jump) and third (long jump) in the MVC.
• If the season were to end today, seven student-athletes would qualify for the NCAA West Regionals in five individual events. Shani Adams (400-hurdles), Oarabile Babolayi (400-hurdles), Robiann Broomfield (triple jump), Daijha Heron (triple jump), Shavonne Husbands (100-meter dash, 200-meter dash), Marissa Kurtimah (100-meter dash, 200-meter dash), and Holly Pattie-Belleli (100-meter hurdles) hold top-48 marks in the NCAA West Region in their respective events and would represent MSU in Lawrence, Kan. on May 26-28.

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