FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 21, 2009

Lions win nine events at MSSU Invite

Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern men's and women's track and field teams had nine individual and team wins today at the Missouri Southern Individual Invite in the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The Southern women won seven events, while the men won two.

Nicole Green and Emilie Mieseler won the shot and the weight throw respectively, both picking up provisional distances in the process. Erin Steffens, Mieseler and Cortney Vie placed second, fourth and fifth in the shot, while Vie and Green were second and seventh in the weight throw. Ciara Lipsey picked up a provisional height and won the pole vault, while Lisa Vengels won the high jump. Gayla Booth finished fifth in the event. Shannan Borgard won the 600 yard run, with Kaitlin Wilkinson placing fifth and Kara Eckard won the 800 meters in her first career-attempt at the race.

Ashley Bunch and Kari Fritchie placed first and second in the 3k. Chris Brown placed first in the high jump, while Phillip Horn and David Selby were fourth and sixth, respectively. The men's DMR team of Aki Nummela, Kevin Wright, Derek Wright and Jarkko Jarvenpaa took the title.

In other action, Cyarra Prince and Vengels placed second and sixth in the 60 m hurdles, while Seth Hackney and Kyle Hancock were second and third in the shot put. Horn placed 12th in the event, while placing second in the 60m hurdles with a provisional time of 8.23. John Lowe was fifth in the hurdles. Josh Mathis was second in the 3k, while the women's 4x400 meter relay team placed second.

Mathis was second in the mile, while former Ben Pantzlaf placed 12th. Courtney Waltbillig, Silvia Pineda and Olga Bulgarova were third, seventh and 10th in the mile, while Derek Wright placed fourth in the 600 yard. Seager Wilson was fourth in the pole vault while Corey Shumate, Horn and Lowe placed 6th, 8th and 9th.

Booth placed fourth in the women's long jump, while Prince and Vengels were 8th and ninth. David Selby was 8th in the men's long jump, while prince placed third in the triple jump. Andrew Wright and Cornell Gedward placed 5th and 12th in the 200m dash, while Danielle Oliver was fourth in the 60m. Oliver and Tia Cook placed fourth and 12th, respectively in the 200m.

The Lions will be back in action on Feb. 27-28 and March first when they travel to Warrensburg to compete in the 2009 MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at Central Missouri.