SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State track and field team kicked off its outdoor season here Friday, hosting Evangel in the team’s first home meet since 2016.The rainy conditions didn’t yield any individual career bests, but the non-scoring dual did live up to its intended experience for the MoState squad.“Despite the challenging weather conditions, the team was locked in on having a great experience,” said head coach Jordan Fife. “I’m proud of their effort to make that happen. It was great to see them competing at home.”In the 1,500-meter run, Edna Dar’s time of 4:39.02 eclipsed the track’s previous top time set in 2016 to give the senior a first-place finish. Ashley Rolewicz and Margo Nea rounded out the top three with times of 4:42.28 and 4:56.51, respectively.Calandra Henry began her outdoor campaign for the Bears with a win, finishing the 100-meter dash in 12:00 seconds. Hayden Gray (12.71), Nakaja Weaver (12.75) and O’Shayla Muldrow (13.28) ended the sprint in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.MSU took the top spots in the middle-distance races, as well, with Bears finishing first and second in both the 400-meter and 800-meter runs. Charity Obazughanmwen led the way in the 400m with a time of 58.11 while Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck took second (59.62). In the 800-meter, Dar earned her second win of the day, finishing just shy of a track record with a time of 2:17.23. Ashley Rolewicz and Victory Ifah rounded out the top three in the event, finishing second and third, respectively, with times of 2:17.62 and 2:23.76.In the 100-meter hurdles, DaeLin Switzer (15.28) and Kate Anderson (15.61) finished first and second, while Meghan Halstead took first in the 400 hurdles (1:04.15).In the first javelin throw of the season, Cheyenne White, Reagan Reedy and Rachel Lacey represented the Bears in the event. White threw to a mark of 39.40 meters to finish first among her teammates while Reedy and Lacey recorded throws of 37.67 and 33.23 meters, respectively.Brooke Jenkins led the way for MSU in the long jump, jumping to a distance of 5.48 meters while Kate Anderson’s mark of 10.52 meters gave her second place in the triple jump.The Bears will be back in action next week in Bolivar, Mo., when Southwest Baptist University hosts the Bearcat Invitational on Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1.
