The Missouri State track and field team opened its 2007 outdoor season Saturday in Carbondale, Ill. The Bears turned in some outstanding performances at the SIU Spring Classic, including four first-place wins. Missouri State placed fifth overall with 72 team points and Indiana State won the meet with 122 points.
Missouri State's Yaneika Malcolm, Tanya Cyrus, Alexandria Oembler and Leander Ernest turned in a time of 46.53 to win the 4x100-meter relay. The same foursome also claimed gold in the 4x400-meter relay to conclude the meet in a time of 3:43.96.
Oembler and Ernest also won individual events. In the 100-meter hurdles, Oembler sprinted to a time of 14.82 for the win and Ernest ran a regional qualifying time of 54.48 to win the 400-meter dash. Malcolm placed third in the 400 in a time of 57.58.
In the 1,500-meter run, Kristin Wolkey finished sixth for the Bears in 4:42.11. Carrie Vestal placed ninth in the race and Chloe Key finished 12th in times of 4:43.91 and 4:49.82, respectively.
Genna Williams added a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash, crossing the finish line at 12.19.
Missouri State also had some notable performances in the field. Zaleika Goffe earned second place for the Bears in the high jump, clearing 5-3. Maraneika Goffe and Kim Carter placed sixth and seventh, respectively, both clearing 5-3.
The Bears' will be back on the track Friday-Saturday, March 30-31. The team will split with some athletes heading to Palo Alto, Calif., to compete in the Stanford Invitational and the remaining MSU team will compete in the University of Missouri Relays in Columbia, Mo.
Courtesy: MSU Photo Services
