ELSAH, IL- The Mckendree Men' and Women's Track Teams competed at the Principia College Relays on Friday January 27 and Saturday January 28.

The Mckendree Men took home six top 5 finishes including first place finishes from Johnathan Bumpers (Alton IL/Alton) in the 60m Hurdles and the Men's 4x400m relay team, second place finishes from Brendan Harter (St. Louis MO/ Desmet Jesuit) in the high jump, Malachi Carroll (Omaha, NE/ Harry A. Burke) in the 200m, the 4x200m relay team, and a 4^th place finish from the Distance Medley Relay Team.

Bumpers came home with an individual win on Saturday in the 60m hurdles after qualifying for the finals in 3^rd place on Friday. He then came back to start the winning 4x400m relay alongside Oshawi Burgher (Kingston, Jamaica/ Excelsior), George Safo (Crete, IL/ Crete-Monee), and John Bush (Ballwin, Mo/. Marquette). The 4x400m came to a dramatic finish with Safo losing his balance in the last straightaway and getting back up and sprinting to the exchange zone to keep the Bearcats in contention. Bush took over as the anchor leg and brought the team to victory in a time of 3:32.39. Bush had the fastest split of the Mckendree relay team with a time of 51.82.

The Men's 4x200m relay narrowly missed victory coming in exactly a quarter of a second behind Greenville. The team consisted of Holden Hutchcraft (Pinckneyville, IL/ Pinckneyville), Dorian Foster (Belleville IL/ Belleville East), Mason Young (Chatham, IL/ Glenwood), and Julian Juszczyk (St. louis MO/ Lutheran North).
The Distance Medley Relay also had a great showing Friday night placing fourth in a tough field with a time of 11:07.00. The team of Burgher, Seth Kasinger (Pekin IL/Pekin), Bush, and Blake Westrater (O'fallon IL/O'fallon) now sits 3^rd on the GLVC Performance list.

The Women's team brought home seven top 8 finishes at the meet including a huge win in the weight throw by Ndia Johnson (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) which she followed up with a 7^th place finish in the shot put. Sanique Rose (St. Catherine, Jamaica/ Excelsior & Ruseas) placed 5^th in the 60m dash with a time of 8.20. Tori King (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) and Azia Douglas (Belleville, IL/ Altoff Catholic) both placed in the top 8 of the 500m run. Lacey Laxton (Coal Valley IL/ Geneseo) placed 7^th in the 3000m Run and was a part of the 4x400m relay team placed 6^th.

Johnson was the sole winner for the Bearcat team at the Principia College Relays. She threw the weight a distance of 15.65 meters. She then came back on Saturday to place 7^th in the shot put with a throw of 11.29 meters.

Tori King and Azia Douglas finished neck and neck in the women's 500m with a time of 1:29.06 and 1:29.27 respectively to take 6^th and 8^th place. They then came back to run the 4x400m relay later Saturday evening alongside Laxton and Reagan Lucas (Freeburg IL/ Freeburg). This relay was strong enough to place 6^th. Lucas was the fastest split with a time of 1:06.74.

The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, February 4^th at the Blue-White Classic at Indiana State University.

Complete Results from the Principia College Relays

Men's Results
60m Dash Finals
6. Carroll- 7.08
60m Dash Preliminaries
4. Carroll- 7.01
15. Safo- 7.28
22. Hutchcraft- 7.42
28. Foster- 7.54
44. Young- 7.91
200m Dash
2. Carroll- 22.75
9. Bumpers- 23.47
13. Safo- 23.75
21. Hutchcraft- 24.28
25. Juszczyk- 24.53
35. Foster- 25.39
500m Dash
13. Emmanuel Segbedzi- 1:17.05
18. Braden Voss 1:18.78
21. Caleb Kickham 1:23.83
Mile Run
26. Kasinger- 5:01.50
3000m Run
9. Westrater- 9:50.51
60m Hurdle Finals
1. Bumpers- 8.55
60m Hurdle Preliminaries
3. Bumpers- 8.66
4x200m Relay
2. Hutchcraft, Foster, Young, Juszczyk- 1:39.03
4x400m Relay
1. Bumpers, Burgher, Safo, Bush- 3:32.39
Distance Medley Relay
4. Burgher, Kasinger, Bush, Westrater- 11:07.00
High Jump
2. Harter- 1.95m

Women's Results
60m Finals
5. Rose- 8.20
60m Preliminaries
7. Rose- 8.21
200m Dash
16. Tori King- 29.01
500m Dash
6. King- 1:29.06
8. Douglas- 1:29.27
Mile Run
11. Lucas- 5:54.85 (Personal Best)
3000m Run
7. Laxton- 11:57.38
12. Colleen Zinke- 13:38.04
60m Hurdles
11. Douglas- 11.42
4x400m Relay
6. King, Douglas, Lucas, Laxton- 4:39.56
Shot Put
7. N. Johnson- 11.29m
20. Kira Johnson- 8.62m
Weight Throw
1. N. Johnson- 15.65m