Saint Louis University began its outdoor track and field season this past weekend at Vanderbilt for the Black and Gold Invitational, battling the rain but still finishing in the top 10 in many events.

Sophomore Allison Walter finished in fourth in the 400-meter dash with a final time of 56.37.

Junior Ashley Roche and senior Mallory Dugger also performed well in the event, finishing sixth and 12th with times of 57.37 and 59.34, respectively. Sophomore Caitlyn Brinkmann crossed the finish line in 22nd place in this event as well.

The junior/senior combination of Dana Siebenaller and Caitlin McCarthy finished neck-and-neck, taking fourth and fifth in the 800-meter run with times of 2:15.92 and 2:16.50 to continue SLU’s success.

Senior Brittney Cloudy picked up right where she left off at the indoor season by finishing in sixth-place in the long jump (17-11.5) and third in the triple jump (39-9.25).

Sophomore Kita Alvares stood out for the Billikens with her second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.74 and a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.72.

For the men, Senior Dahmar Smiles took fifth place in the 110-meter hurdles, hustling with a time of 14.71.

In his first career race, freshman Tim Zellmer finished in sixth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:37.16.

The men’s 4×400-meter relay combination of seniors Smiles, Patrick Kotecki, sophomore Stewart Van Horne and freshman Tommy Whittaker placed seventh out of 14 teams with a time of 3:23.85.

Van Horne also scored points for the Billikens with his eighth-place finish in the 800-meter run, finishing with a time of 1:55.87, just three seconds behind the winner, Jack Spilman from Miami University (Ohio).

The Billikens compete in St. Louis the next two weeks for the Washington University Invitational on April 7 and  the Billiken Invitational on April 13-14.