SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's track and field team wraps up the regular-season portion of the indoor schedule at the Gorilla Classic, hosted by Pittsburg State, with action beginning on Friday, Feb. 14 at 2:00 p.m.  The competition will continue on Saturday, Feb. 15 with the morning session of running events getting underway at 10:30 a.m. and field events starting at 12:00 p.m.
 

Gorilla Classic
Dates & Times	Friday, Feb. 14 | Field Events: 2:00 p.m. | Running Events: 3:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 | Field Events: 12:00 p.m. | Running Events: 10:30 a.m.
Location	Pittsburg, Kan.
Site	Robert W. Plaster Center
Follow Along	Live Results | Meet Schedule
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Keeping Track of the Bears

• Missouri State returns to the Robert W. Plaster Center for the 5th Annual Gorilla Classic after competing in the Pittsburg State Invitational on Feb. 1.  MSU has participated in the previous four Gorilla Classic meets, including last year's competition where the Bears recorded eight finishes inside the top-5.  Jamilah James set her career-best indoor mark in the triple jump (12.66m) while Edna Dar finished second in the 800-meter run.
• MSU battled against a competitive field at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational last weekend (Feb. 7-8).  Malia Watkins broke into the MSU record book by running a 24.10 in the 200-meter dash.  Her time, which ranks third on the indoor 200-meter list, was the fastest mark for a Missouri State sprinter since Shavonne Husbands ran a 23.97 in 2013.
• At the Pitt State meet, Dar claimed her second-straight title in the mile while Grace Breiten (Mile) and Jessica Haney (High Jump) each posted third-place performances in their respective events.  James hit a season-high mark of 11.90 meters to place fourth in the triple jump and Watkins clocked a personal-best 7.60 in the 60-meter prelims to send her to the finals where the freshman sprinter finished seventh.     
• MSU earned three individual titles and a second-place finish in the team scoring at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational (Jan. 24-25).  Dar (Mile), James (Triple Jump), and Adyson Delaney (3,000m) each earned top-marks in their events on Day Two of the meet.  Overall, MSU completed its second competition of the indoor season with 11 top-3 finishes. 
• The Bears had 13 newcomers make their MSU debut at the Arkansas Invitational on Jan. 17.   Missouri State earned five top-10 finishes at Arkansas, highlighted by a second-place finish in the shot put from Kennedy Aurentz and a third-place showing by Haney in the high jump.
• With the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championship coming up on Feb. 29 – March 1, Missouri State holds nine top-5 times/marks in the league rankings.  Watkins' 200-meter time (24.10) from the Husker Invitational stands as the top time in the MVC to go along with her runner-up ranking in the 60m (7.60) that she ran at the Pitt State meet.   Dar ranks third in the 800m (2:14.30) and fourth in the mile (4:57.84).  The Bears have a pair of top-5 times in the 5,000m with Shelby Palmer and Delaney ranking back-to-back at third and fourth.  In the field events, Haney has cleared the bar at the 1.70 meters twice this season, most recently at the Husker Invitational, to hold her No. 4 spot while James (11.90m) continues to rank third among Valley triple jumpers.  The MSU 4x400-meter relay team that set a season-best time of 3:49.11 in Nebraska checks in at third, trailing the top-two teams by less than a second. 
• Head coach Jordan Fife is in his first season at the helm for Missouri State after serving as the interim coach last year which followed a five-year stint as an assistant.  This is his sixth season at MSU after being named the head cross country coach in 2014.
• Missouri State was picked fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference coaches' preseason poll.