(Auburn, Ala, April 14) – The McKendree University track and field program competed at the Tiger Track Classic in Auburn, Alabama over the weekend.

On Friday, junior Kirby Smith placed 14^th in the javelin with a throw of 36.04m, while senior Christina Hill finished 19^th in the same event. Freshman Mya Watson-Blake placed 23^rd in the women's long jump with a personal best effort, and three Bearcat men finished in the top 30, including junior Lafayette Waters, who was 23^rd overall with a jump of 6.74m.

On day two of competition, three Bearcats earned Division II provisional qualifying standards, in senior Melissa Calcara in the women's 100m hurdles (she placed tenth in the 400m hurdles as well), junior Quincy McSweeney in the women's 800m finishing ninth and junior DeMontez McCray in the men's 100m placing sixth (he finished ninth in the 200m event). The women's 4x400m relay team also posted a provisional qualifying time of 3:43.61, taking home first place in the process.

Sophomore Darren Arzu finished the men's 100m hurdles in a time of 15.27 which put him in 16^th position, while Andrew Gardenwine and Ryan Krause both earned a top 20 placement in the men's 800m. Senior Jordyn Looman was 22^nd in the women's 400m, and junior Tyler Johnson placed 31^st in the men's 400m. The men's 4x100m and 4x400m relay squads both earned top ten placements.

In the triple jump, junior Jacob Troutman was 13^th overall with a mark of 14.34m, while on the women's side, sophomore TsiTsi Mahachi also placed in 13^th. Chase Hagene had a throw of 44.88m in the men's discus, finishing in the top ten and he also took part in the shot put, placing 12^th, while junior Monte Wolke cleared the bar at 14.65m to finish 12^th in the men's pole vault.

The Bearcats will be back in action next weekend at the Dewey Allgood Invitational in Rolla, Missouri.