FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2009

Lions open 2009 indoor season at Arkansas Invite

Fayetteville, Ark. -- The Missouri Southern men's and women's track and field teams opened up the 2009 indoor season with at the University of Arkansas Invite at the Tyson Center in Fayetteville.

Southern was the only Division II school in the meet that featured the likes of Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Three Southern women scored personal bests as Kimi Shank placed third in the 3k with a time of 10:06.94, while Shannan Borgard was sixth in the 800m with a time of 2:19.61. Erin Steffens placed fourth in the shot put with a personal best distance of 42 feet 10.5 inches.

Channell Lloyd placed sixth in the 60m hurdles, while Lisa Vengels and Gayla Booth were second and fourth, respectively in the high jump. Ciara Lipsey had one of her best pole vaults ever with a height of 11 feet, five and three quarter inches, while Cortney Vie, Nicole Green and Emilie Mieseler joined Steffens in placing 4th-7th in the shot put. Vie, Mieseler and Green were third, fourth and seventh in the weight throw.

In men's action Corey Reynolds placed second, but shared the top height in the high jump. He finished behind Arkansas' Nate Durham due to fewer misses. The height of six feet, eight and three quarter inches is an NCAA provisional height. Seth Hackney was second in the shot put with a distance of 50-8.25, while Kyle Hancock was fourth at 45-3.00.

Freshman Dawson Urrutia nearly missed a provisional distance in the long jump, finishing eighth with a jump of 23-02.00. A pair of freshman, Taylor McClelland and Nicco Mendes, finished 14th and 18th in the long jump, respectively. McClelland was seventh in the triple jump, while Urrutia finished ninth.

Kevin Wright placed 14th in the 400m with a time of 51.23, while senior Seager Wilson placed ninth in the pole vault with a height of 14 feet, seven and a quarter inches. Former Lion and current coach Russell Ellis competed unattached and placed fifth in the pole vault with a height of 15 feet one inch.

Southern will now come back to the friendly confines of the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center to play host to its first indoor meet of the season next weekend. The Lions will host the Fazolis/Baymont Inn Invitational on Friday and Saturday, January 16-17.