(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 14)—The McKendree University women's indoor track and field team raced its way to a second-place finish Saturday at the DePauw University Invitational in Greencastle, Ind.

The Bearcats finished the meet with 82 points, trailing only the University of Indianapolis in the final standings. There were a total of 19 women's teams competing at the DePauw Invitational.

McKendree recorded a pair of first-place individual finishes on Saturday. Senior Shilpa Hamilton (St. Louis, MO/Hazelwood Central) (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central) won the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.36 seconds. Hamilton also took third place in the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 27.14 seconds. Freshman LaTia Jefferson (Belleville, IL/Belleville East) (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East) claimed the championship in the triple jump with a distance of 37 feet.

Sophomore Nadia Moore (Cahokia, IL/Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) earned a spot in the field for the NAIA National Championships with her second-place effort in the triple jump at DePauw. Moore placed behind Jefferson with a distance of 36 feet, eight inches. Sophomore Kim Spencer (Pinckneyville, Ill./Pinckneyville) was the runner-up in the 55-meter dash with an effort of 7.42 seconds.

Junior Nadia Ware (Cahokia, IL/Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) was third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:04.02, while junior Airika Tyler (Wood River, IL/East Alton-Wood River) (Wood River, Ill./East Alton-Wood River) placed third in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:15.42. Junior Kayla Fowler (Swansea, IL/Belleville East) (Swansea, Ill./Belleville East) turned in a time of 1:50.48 to finish fourth in the 600-meter run. Freshman Tiara Williams (St. Louis, MO/Hazelwood West) (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood West) cleared a height of four feet, 11 inches to post a fourth-place finish in the high jump.

Sophomore Alex Senaldi (Staunton, IL/Staunton) (Staunton, Ill./Staunton) raced to a fifth-place effort in the 1,000-meter run. Senaldi registered a time of 3:27.54 in the event. Rounding out the list of top individual performances for McKendree was junior Emily Hackstadt (Okawville, IL/Okawville) (Okawville, Ill./Okawville), who grabbed seventh place in the long jump with a distance of 15 feet, six inches.

The Bearcats' 4 x 400-meter relay team finished second in Saturday's meet with a time of 4:20.99. Hamilton, Fowler, Ware and freshman Marscia Davis (Springfield, IL/Southeast) (Springfield, Ill./Southeast) represented McKendree in the relay.

McKendree will look to defend its American Midwest Conference indoor track and field title at the 2011 AMC Meet this Friday and Saturday in Columbia, Mo. The AMC Meet will be held in conjunction with the University of Missouri All-Comers Meet.