PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Missouri State track and field team collected six event titles and racked up a total of 18 top-five finishes to make for a solid all-around performance here Sunday at the Gorilla Classic in its second outdoor meet of the season.
 
To kick off their day in Pittsburg, the Bears made a clean sweep of the top-3 spots in the long jump with Brooke Jenkins winning the event on a personal-best mark of 6.08 meters.  She was followed by Talia Emerson (5.95m) and Jamilah James (5.89m) who took second and third, respectively.  Nakaja Weaver topped off a fruitful first event for MSU with her final jump registering 5.72 meters which placed her fifth.
 
James continued her impressive outing with a silver-medal performance in the triple jump, bounding to a 12.63-meter mark.  Olivia Richards set a personal record in the event with a 10.99-meter jump that put her in seventh.
 
"The team did another phenomenal job of taking advantage of the opportunity in front of them, going up against great competition and getting to compete in pristine weather conditions," said head coach Jordan Fife.  "Once again, the athletes in our first event of the day (Jenkins, Emerson, James, and Weaver) showed up big and started the momentum for everyone else.  Jamilah (James) doubled up with a great showing in the triple jump as well."
 
Emerson (14.24) bagged her first collegiate event title in the 100-meter hurdles, inching out ahead of Missouri Southern's Claire Luallen (14.26).  The sophomore from Kansas City, Mo. was a finalist in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships where she came in seventh.
 
Madison Meredith won the 100-meter dash on a blazing 11.43 pace, tying with Amber Cumberbatch's 2001 mark for the program's fifth-fastest outdoor 100m time.  Also in the event, Weaver (11.93) and Calandra Henry (12.05) crossed the finish line consecutively with Weaver taking fifth place and Henry coming in sixth.
 
Meredith went on to claim the 200-meter race as well with a first-place time of 24.03 while Henry (24.88) earned fourth and Weaver (25.00) placed sixth.
 
Jessica Haney made quick work of the field in the high jump, winning the event on her first attempt of the afternoon before going on to clear the bar at the 1.76-meter mark.  The title-clinching jump sits as the third-best mark in program history behind Heather McFadden (1994) and Mandy Scott (1995) who share the outdoor record with their 1.77-meter clearances. 
 
"Jessica (Haney) had a big jump today to give herself a great chance to make the NCAA first round," added Fife.  "Madi (Meredith) was dominant again and continues to eclipse her times every week.  Talia (Emerson) also doubled up with a big personal best in the 100-meter hurdles."
 
The MSU 4x100-meter relay of Weaver, Meredith, Henry and A'Mira Askew took the top time in the event with the quartet passing the baton around in 46.10 seconds. 
 
The first individual race for Missouri State featured Sierra Williams (4:36.87) turning in a third-place showing in the 1,500-meter run.  She was followed by Edna Dar in fifth who recorded a 4:38.40.
 
In the 800-meter run, the two distance runners flip-flopped places with Dar coming in third and stopping the clock at the 2:15.32 mark while Williams legged out a 2:17.71 to place fifth.
 
In the throws, MSU finished with three in the top six in the javelin with Cheyenne White (43.02m) and Rochelle Etienne (41.72m) finishing back-to-back in third and fourth, respectively.  Jaide Rose followed in sixth with her toss of 40.69 meters.
 
Mackenzie Ihasz and Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck each improved on their 400-meter times from last week's Joey Haines Invitational (April 3) with Ihasz clocking in at 58.22 to finish seventh and Ngo Tonye Nyemeck following at the 59.12 point in ninth.
 
Up next for Missouri State is a quick turnaround to compete in the Mule Relays hosted by Central Missouri on Friday, April 16.