COLUMBIA, Mo. – SIUE track and field's Elizabeth Hampl moves up No. 16 on the NCAA West qualifying list with her performance in the hammer throw on day one of the Tom Botts Invitational in Columbia, Missouri.
Hampl placed second with a throw of 198 feet, 3 inches, her best toss of the season. She is No. 29 in the NCAA overall.
Freshman Jacqueline Landuyt continues to add meters to her personal best. Her mark of 148-6 is two meters better than her previous season best.
The Cougar distance team posted several personal bests during day one, including Ben Scamihorn and Matt O'Connor in the 1500 meters. Scamihorn placed eighth with a time of 4 minutes, 1.82 seconds. O'Connor, in his 1500 debut, ran the race in 4:02.66 and finished 10th.
Luke Padesky placed fifth in a personal best 14:41.52 in the 5K, while Tyler Owens also ran a career-best 15:43.50 in the same race.
Keith Meyer and Scott Woodard ran well in the 3K steeplechase. Meyer's race was a career-best, finishing in 9:33.80. Woodard finished in 9:53.81.
Erin Kennedy continues to shatter personal bests, this time in the 5K. Her time of 18:04.30 was good enough for eighth place.
"Overall, it was a solid day," said McAllister. "We couldn't have asked for better conditions. We're looking forward to more improvements tomorrow."
The Tom Botts Invitational continues for the Cougars Saturday at 1 p.m.
