Saint Louis University track and field continued its outdoor season this past weekend, traveling to Indiana State University, located in Terre Haute, Indiana, to compete in the Pacesetter Invitational. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed in the top three, and numerous personal records were set in the meet.
Several Billikens finished in the top five of their respective events, which powered the SLU women’s team to a second overall finish and the SLU men’s team to a third overall finish. Indiana State made good use of their home advantage, finishing first in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
The SLU women’s first place finishers included sophomore Ann Harlos and sophomore Sarah Reich. Harlos finished first in the 400-meter hurdles and Reich finished first in the javelin with a throw of 38.34 meters. Second place finishers for the Billikens included senior Rachel Staab, sophomore Megan Gahart, and the 4×400 relay team. Staab earned her second-place finish with a 100-meter time of 12.45 seconds. Gahart finished the javelin event with a throw of 36.92 meters, and the 4×400 meter relay team ran their race in a time of 3:58.68.
SLU’s only third place finisher was senior Jenna Ginsberg in the pole vault, with a vault of 3.07 meters. However, SLU had a large number of fourth and fifth place finishes. Gahart’s 40.97 mark in the discus was good for fourth place, as was Harlos’ 14.48 second time in the 100-meter hurdles. Junior Katherine Kelly finished fourth in the 800 meters, with a time of 2:13.04, while senior Kamaria Gage finished fourth in the hammer with a throw of 46.37 meters. Meanwhile, freshman Amanda Baker finished fourth in the javelin with a throw of 27.68 meters, and the 400 meters went to sophomore Avery Pacella with a time of 59.81.
Fifth place finishers for the SLU women included senior Hannah Rohde, who ran the 800 meters in a time of 2:13.23, and junior Courtney Link, who ran the 5000 meters in a time of 18:23.76. Junior Jasmine Jefko earned fifth place in the shot put with a throw of 12.57 meters, and Gage earned fifth in the discus with a throw of 39.22 meters. The 4×100 relay team also finished in fifth with a time of 50.46.
The SLU men had several top five finishers as well. Senior Griffin McCurren finished first in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.09. Meanwhile, sophomore Alexander Eldridge finished first in the javelin with a throw of 51.24 meters. SLU had no second place finishers amongst the men and only one third-place finish—sophomore Dorrian Gordon earned third with a 3000-meter steeplechase time of 9:43.48. SLU’s two fourth place finishers were senior Hiob Gebisso, with a time of 3:59.74 in the 1500 meters and the 4×100 relay team, with a time of 43.72.
Next up for the Billikens will be the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, which will last from Thursday, April 27 to Saturday, April 29. Afterward, the Billikens will travel to Amherst, Massachusetts, to compete in the Atlantic 10 championships.
