PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Missouri State track and field team finished the first day of the Gorilla Classic with a pair of top-five finishes and seven personal records on Friday.
 
Freshmen Alyssa Ball and Brianna Howard kicked off the track events with their personal records in the qualifying round of the 60-meter dash. Ball finished third out of 69 runners with a time of 7.80, .05 seconds faster than her previous personal best that she set at the first meet of the season.
 
Howard was close behind Ball with a fifth-place finish in the same event. The St. Louis native finished the race with a time of 7.83, shaving .11 seconds off her previous personal best. Howard also set recorded her previous personal best at the first meet of the season.
 
Chelsey Brown was the Bears' third and final top-10 finish of the day. The sophomore placed ninth in the pole vault open with an attempt of 3.20m, tying her personal record.
 
"We had a lot of season bests today," head coach Jordan Fife said. "It was refreshing to see all the hard work start to pay off."
 
Five more Bears set personal records in the 200-meter dash. Olivia Rogers finished first for the Bears with a time of 25.25. Kayleigh Jenkins followed in 21^st with a time of 25.56, then Whitney Farrington in 27^th with a time of 25.73. In 36^th-place, Seleena Morris finished with a time of 26.07 and Howard wrapped up the PRs with a time of 26.67 and a 52^nd-place finish.
 
The Bears will continue tomorrow with the second day of the Gorilla Classic. Track events are slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. and field events will begin at noon.
   
Results
60-meter Dash – Qualifying
3. Alyssa Ball – 7.80
5. Brianna Howard – 7.83
 
200-meter Dash
15. Olivia Rogers – 25.25
21. Kayleigh Jenkins – 25.56
27. Whitney Farrington – 25.73
32. Alyssa Ball – 26.00
36. Seleena Morris – 26.07
52. Brianna Howard – 26.67
53. Hayden Gray – 26.67
 
High Jump - Open
14. Maggie Haase – 1.53m
 
Long Jump
35. Nakaja Weaver – 4.81m
 
Pole Vault - Open
9. Chelsey Brown – 3.20m
13. Jordan Drum – 3.10m