PITTSBURG, Kan. – Boosted by another dominant outing in the sprints, the Missouri State track and field team delivered a solid all-around performance to conclude its weekend at the Gorilla Classic here Saturday in Pittsburg, Kan.
 
"This was a very productive meet for us this weekend," acknowledged head coach Jordan Fife.  "Whether that was getting some people back in competition for the first time in a year or improving on performances from two weeks ago at Washburn."
 
In the 60-meter sprints, Madison Meredith and Calandra Henry packed a Bears 1-2 punch, taking the top-two spots to lead the charge in what turned out to be a lucrative event for MSU.  Meredith clocked a time of 7.44 to win her fourth straight event and pad the resume of a spectacular start to her debut season with the Bears.  Henry (7.66) edged out just ahead of Pittsburg State's Christine Williams to take the silver while Nakaja Weaver crossed the finish line at the 7.71 mark to put three Bears among the race's top-four finishers.
 
Edna Dar added another runner-up performance to the Bears' day, marking a time of 2:16.33 in the 800-meter run.  Ashley Rolewicz (2:20.28) and Sierra Williams (2:21.67) turned in top-10 performances with Rolewicz placing fifth and Williams coming in ninth.
 
Dar and Williams were among the first ten finishers in the mile as well, leading Fife's distance group with Dar (5th) running a 5:09.44 pace and Williams (7th) following with a 5:12.66.
 
Mackenzie Ihasz placed sixth in the 400-meter run on a 59.30 time while teammates Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck (1:01.45) and O'Shayla Muldrow (1:01.58) finished back-to-back to close out the event's top-15.
 
In the 3,000-meter run, Adyson Delaney paced MSU with her 10:36.63 time putting her fifth overall.  The Bears positioned four runners in the 9-12 spots with Shelby Palmer (10:52.51), Alex Hamre (11:01.53), Lillie Kaempfe (11:12.65) and Riley Lourens (11:29.46) crossing the finish line consecutively.
 
Talia Emerson made the finals of a competitive 60-meter hurdles field, coming in seventh overall on her 9.22 time.
 
In the triple jump, Brooke Jenkins and Olivia Richards registered respective jumps of 11.44m and 10.62m with Jenkins' mark earning her a trip to the event finals where she finished eighth.
 
The 4x400-meter relay team of Ihasz, Meredith, Henry, and Dar was the first of three MSU squads to finish the event.  The quartet recorded a combined time of 3:56.88 and placed sixth. 
 
"The 60m was a great event for us with Madison, Calandra, and Nakaja going 1-2-4," said Fife.  "That will be a big event for us at the conference meet.  We have a couple weeks to keep working hard in practice and to prepare for the championship."
 
Missouri State will compete at the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championship on Feb. 26-28 held at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.