MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The SIUE track and field team withstood some blustery conditions Saturday as the Cougars competed at the Memphis Invitational at the Billy J. Murphy Track Complex.
"It was cold and windy today," Interim Head Coach Eileen McAllister said. "We ran into the wind for the sprints and hurdles so it's difficult to get fast times from that, but we were still able to win a lot of events."
On the women's side, senior Hilary Conrad took first place in the 200 meters with a time of 25.38 seconds while Jessica Oranika placed first in the 400 meters with a finish of 55.19.
In the women's 1,500 meters, the Cougars swept the top three spots as Renee Johns-Goodenough (4:54.89), Conradette King (5:00.95), and Kirby Hale (5:02.21) finished first, second, and third, respectively.
LaDonna Caston impressed in the hurdles, winning the 100 meter hurdles in 14.68 and placing second in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:04.85.
In the throws, Elizabeh Hampl placed first in the hammer throw with a mark of 180 feet, 11 inches.
For the SIUE men, Braxton Klavins continued his impressive junior season with a first-place finish in the 200 meters (22.36) and a second-place finish in the 100 meters (11.14).
Julian Harvey took first place in the men's long jump with a mark of 24-1, ranking him second all-time on the program's outdoor list.
"Julian's long jump was probably the best mark of the day for us," McAllister said.
The Cougars also had three athletes in action at the Washington University Invitational Friday night in St. Louis. Haley Briggs finished 15th in the women's 10,000 meters with a personal best time of 40:17.16, while Luke Padesky (31:28.85) and Nick Moore (31:35.63) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the men's 10,000 meters.
"All three of them ran very well," McAllister said. "Haley PR'd by over one minute and her second half was faster than her first half. This was the first 10K for the guys, but it was a great start."
SIUE will send a group of qualifiers to the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla., next weekend. The rest of the squad will be back in action at the Missouri Relays in Columbia, Mo., April 12.
"We will find out today who is accepted to for the Florida Relays next weekend," McAllister added. "Most of our athletes will be off, so it will be good to get two solid weeks of training in before competing at Missouri."
