SLU’s track and field team traveled across the country on April 15-16 to compete in California and Missouri.  The team was represented at the Mizzou Invitational and Azusa Pacific Invitational.

Junior DeeJay Owens continued to excel in the triple jump at the Tom Botts Invitational at Mizzou.  He came close to his school record with a jump of 14.20 meters.  Freshman Will Hinegardner also competed well in the field, establishing the school record for the high jump with a mark of 2.03 meters.

Stephanie Uhrich fared well for the women at Mizzou.  She put on a strong performance in the pole vault at 3.61 meters.

Other notables at the Tom Botts Invitational included junior Elise Moore, who placed fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.94.  She also placed fifth in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:38.91.

On the men’s side, junior Nathan Hall earned a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter run with a time of 49.66.  Freshman Tannock Blair fell into the fifth-place position in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.03.  Blair and fellow freshman Lance Mueller earned the second and third place spots in the 1500-meter run with times of 3:51.33 and 3:51.62, respectively.

The 4×100-meter relay team of senior Jonathan Goodwin, junior Griffin McCurren, freshman Will Moore and Hall finished in fifth place with a time of 42.60.  The 4×400-meter relay team of Hall, sophomore Josh Freivogel, junior Kyle Clinkingbeard and McCurren earned the second spot with a time of 3:15.29.  Freshman Alexander Eldridge placed fourth in the javelin throw with a distance of 50.42 meters.

On the coast, several long-distance runners showed off their talents at Long Beach State and Asuza Pacific.  Junior Neal Fitzpatrick flew past his 5,000-meter-run time at the Mt. Sac Relays, posting a new school record of 14:15.98.  Freshman standout Manuel De Backer earned the freshman record for the 5,000 meter-race with a time of 14:35.93 at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific.

The team is still in the heart of season.  They compete in two more events in April before heading off to the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in Virginia on May 7-8.

SLU travels to Indiana to participate in the Pacesetter Invitation on April 21-22.  Their final regular season competition is in Iowa at the Drake Relays, April 28-30.

SLU has their eyes on the prize for the conference tournament, and their current trend of breaking records at nearly every meet is making the future look bright for the Billikens for the next three weeks.