FORT COLLINS, Colo.  At a meet filled predominantly with Division I teams, Western Colorado's track & field program posted numerous career-best performance Friday and Saturday at the Jack Christiansen Invitational, hosted by Colorado State University.

Early in Saturday's event schedule, Iris Hicks raced to a career-best time of 17.59 seconds in the women's 100-meter hurdles for a 16h-place finish that kick started the Mountaineers' strong day.

Not long after Hicks' run, Meghan Benkendorf recorded her own career-best time, placing 10th in the women's 400m dash, crossing the finish in a time of 59.54 seconds, followed close behind by teammate Kiarra Lapp, whose time of 1 minute, 0.64 seconds was just 6/100ths of a second off her own career best.

In another one-circuit race around the oval at the Jack Christiansen Track, Western's Will Stone placed seventh in the men's 400 hurdles, his time of 54.45 seconds a career best, as was his time of 11.20 seconds in the 100m dash earlier in the event schedule.

Just missing a new career performance around the curve was Myia Dantzler, who placed second in the 200, tying for Western's best overall finish at the Invite, with a time of 24.48, just off her career best of 24.44.

The field events that spanned Friday's and Saturday's schedule produced several more career performances.

Johanna Brown spun to a career-best toss of 41.98 meters (137 feet-8.75 inches) to place ninth in Friday's hammer throw, with teammate Katrina Trahan just ahead in seventh (43.81m, 143-8.75).

Brown began Saturday's field events schedule with another career mark, finishing fifth in the shot put with a best throw of 13.46m (44-1.75).

Next in the circle was the discus throw, in which Western earned a career best mark from the Mountaineer leader on both the women's and the men's events.

Kenyon Rook recorded a throw of 41.71m (136-10) to place 11th in the men's discus, and Abigail Nehring landed a career-best mark of 40.44m (132-8) to finish 10th in the women's discus.

Tied with teammate Brandon Kolb (1.97m, 6-5.5) in the men's high jump, Aiden Ellebracht's equal height was his new career-best jump.

Pole vault also brought about career bests on both sides of the ledger. Nora Harsin registered a career-best height of 3.35m (10-11.75) to finish seventh in the women's event, and in the men's pole vault, Brayden Jones placed second with a career-best height of 4.95m (16-2.75) that is the eighth best clearance on Western's all-time outdoor top-10 list.

The women's long jump provided another lifetime best performance as Emma Alford landed a leap of 5.54m (18-2.0) to place fourth, the same place she would finish in the women's triple jump.

Though not his career best, Shawn Carter added a second place in the men's triple jump, landing in the pit with a mark of 14.40m (47-2.75), after placing 10th in the long jump.

NEXT UP
The Mountaineers will travel West to Colorado Mesa University for the Maverick Invite and Multi on April 2-3.