SLU track and field had a busy weekend, competing in two meets on Jan. 21.

Several Billikens finished in the top eight of the Gladstein Invitational. With the men, sophomore Manuel de Backer finished first in the 5000-meter men’s race, with a time of 14:51.86. Sophomore Matt Prest finished seventh in the same event, with a time of 15:10.60. In the weight throw, sophomore Brett Kowalczyk finished seventh with throw of 15.59 meters. Senior Griffin McCurren finished third in the 600 meters with a time of 1:22.62. Meanwhile, sophomore Tannock Blair finished with a time of 1:22.92 in the same event for fourth place. The Billiken men finished seventh in the 4×400 meter relay and fifth in the 4×800 meter relay, with times of 3:22.43 and 7:45.58, respectively.

The women performed well in the Gladstein Invitational. Sophomore Ann Schmitz finished fourth in the 5000 meters (17:45.09), while junior Courtney Link finished sixth in the 5000 meters (18:03.01). Junior Elise Moore finished eighth in the 600 meters (1:38.26).

The men’s team also finished in the top eight in several events at the John Craft Invitational. Senior Michael Reader completed the high jump at 1.95 meters, good enough for second. Freshman Ethan Erusha and sophomore Bobby Jansen both completed the high jump in 1.90 meters, tying for fifth. Kowalczyk completed the weight throw with a 15.62-meter throw, good for third place. Sophomore Tom Malloy was seventh in the weight throw with a throw of 14.56 meters.

The women’s team won accolades at the John Craft Invitational. Sophomore Avery Pacella was seventh in the 400 meters with a time of 1:01.69. Senior Hannah Rohde was fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:18.43. Freshman Hannah Pierson finished fourth in the mile with a time of 5:11.22. Sophomore Ann Harlos earned fifth place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.02. Junior Jasmine Jefko was seventh in the shot put at 11.77 meters, and sixth in the weight throw at 14.74 meters. Sophomore Sarah Reich was eighth in the shot put with 11.44 meters, and sophomore Megan Gahart was seventh in the weight throw with 14.61 meters.

The men and women will travel to Huntington, W. Va., on Jan. 27, for a meet at Marshall.