Meet Results (PDF)
ST. LOUIS – Spurred by several top individual performances, the Missouri State track and field team kicked off its outdoor season with a first-place team finish at the Billiken Invitational here Friday, March 25.
In their outdoor debut, the Bears compiled 191 points, beating out meet host Saint Louis University (177 points) for the top team spot. Lindenwood took third place at the invitational with 82 points while Maryville and Bradley rounded out the top five with 50 and 39 points, respectively.
"Definitely not ideal conditions for a track meet today with it being chilly and extremely windy, but our athletes really stepped up and still competed tough and I commend them for that," said head coach Jordan Fife. "It was still a great experience that will help us down the road if we face these conditions again."
Early in the day, MSU's 4X100-meter relay team earned a top finish for its showing at the SLU Medical Center Recreational Complex. The team made up of Tamia Rayford, Charity Obazughanmwen, Calandra Henry and Giselle Badoo finished in 47.88 seconds.
In the field events, DaeLin Switzer continued the success she found during the indoor season, winning the high jump in her first outdoor meet as a Bear with a leap of 1.62 meters. In the long jump, Brooke Jenkins earned a top-three finish, placing third with a distance of 5.31 meters, while teammate Tamia Emerson placed fifth with a jump of 5.25 meters. Emerson's success carried over to triple jump, as she finished runner up (11.47m) while Jenkins (10.80m), Oliva Richards (10.62m) and Blair Sebastian (10.02m) placed fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively.
In the first javelin throw of the season, Missouri State's four competitors swept the top four spots, with junior Jaide Rose finishing in first place for the Bears with a throw of 42.05 meters. Rochelle Etienne and Cheyenne White rounded out the top three with throws of 37.63 and 35.75 meters, while Morgan Gratza placed fourth (32.81).
Etienne also kicked off her outdoor season strong on the track, finishing second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.76. Switzer and Kate Anderson also competed in the event, finishing in third and seventh place with times of 15:10 and 15:62 seconds.
The Bears also had strong a strong showing in the 1,500-meter run, with Edna Dar and Ashley Rolewicz finishing in second and third place, respectively, with times of 4:52.59 and 4:53.47. Claudrice McKoy and Shelby Palmer also earned top-10 finishes in the event, ending in seventh (5:00.79) and 10th (5:05.43) place for the Bears.
McKoy and Rolewicz carried their momentum over to the 800-meter run, finishing in third and fourth place with times of 2:24.39 and 2:24.77. Mary Margaret Harris also raced to a top-10 finish, ending the event in 10th place (2:34.29).
In the 5,000-meter run, the Bears dominated, taking eight of the top 10 spots. Dar raced to a first-place finish with a time of 18:37.35, with Shelby Palmer finishing in succession behind her with a time of 18:44.66. Margo Nea, Natalie Clayton, Anna Lombardo, Kylie Ghormley, Riley Lourens, and Kayla Voelker finished in the fifth-10th spots.
MSU closed out the meet with their second relay victory of the day, as the team of Obazughanmwen, Henry, Meghan Halstead and Victory Ifah combined for a 4X400-meter time of 4:11.47.
"Coming from behind over the last three events, the 5k, javelin, and 4x400 made the end of the meet very exciting! It was fun to come out with the win," finished Fife.
The Bears will look to carry over the momentum from today's outdoor opener to next week's meet in Bolivar, Mo., when Southern Baptist University hosts the Bearcat Invitational on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2.
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