One Event Title and Two School Records Highlight Griffins’ Performances at SLIAC Invitational
Greenville, Ill. - The Griffins squared off against the other members of the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Saturday at the SLIAC Invitational hosted by Greenville College. The top six finishers in each event scored points counting towards the team standings.
On the women's side, Olivia Beggs kicked off the meet with a third place finish in the 10,000 meter run. Beggs ran 40:48.01, demolishing the previous school record by one minute and forty-five seconds! Beggs' effort was just two seconds short of second place. Kelly Mundwiller kept the momentum going, throwing a big personal best of 9.92 meters in the women's shot put for sixth place, grabbing the last scoring spot after coming into the competition ranked eighth. Amidst a storm front rolling in, Becca Buehler won the women's 400-meter hurdles, tying her personal best set two weeks ago with a time of 66.08 seconds. It was Buehler's first SLIAC title.
Claire Becker also picked up team points in the women's 5,000 meter run, with a fourth place finish, tying her personal best of 20:56.34. Gabi Cruts ran to a school record in the women's 100 meter dash in a time of 12.99. Cruts placed fifth after coming into the competition ranked eighth. Coming off of a week of cross-training due to injury, Annie McKenzie competed with heart to run a three-second personal best in the women's 800. Jennie Stare, Cathy Maschmeyer, and Grace Poindexter competed in the women's 1500 meter run. The women's 4X400 meter relay of Buehler, Cruts, Taylor McGowen, and Stare finished fourth, running 4:35.66.
On the men's side, Justin Horneker took fifth place in the 1500 meter run in 4:09.20, a two-second personal best. Also in the 1500, Cristian Sellars placed ninth in 4:28.20. Dallas Haywood placed fifth in the long jump with a jump of 5.69 meters, while freshmen James Wiggins finished seventh. Clayton Bond placed ninth in the men's 100 meter dash, coming back with a strong leadoff leg in the men's 4X400 meter relay. The team of Bond, Haywood, Horneker, and Sellars placed fourth, running 3:44.73.
In the team competition, the women finished sixth with 27 points and the men finished seventh with 8 points. The SLIAC meet marked the end of the regular track season for the Griffins. A contingent of the team will continue chasing personal bests, beginning with the Fighting Scot Invitational at Monmouth College on Saturday, May 2nd.