Huntington, W.Va. – An eventful day for the West Liberty University track & field programs led to both teams being inside the top-4 of the team standings after the opening day at the Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Facility. The men's team currently sits in third place with 33 points while the women are fourth with 26 team points, however with 59 total points the teams are second in the combined team results. The Hilltoppers claimed one conference title on the opening day as Ky'Ara Ross broke the school and meet record to take first place in the long jump. That was just one of five school records broken on Friday to go along with five top-3 finishes, eight top-8 finishes, and athletes punched six tickets into event finals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• With the second fastest prelim time of the day, Lorenzo Ferrera advances to the 60m dash finals with a time of 6.94. Nathan Baker recorded a 12^th place finish in the event as he crossed the line in a time of 7.16.
• Ferrera punched his second ticket to the finals for tomorrow with a personal-best time of 22.14 for sixth place in the 200m dash prelims.
• In the 400m dash prelims, Arthur Williams crossed the line with a season-best time of 50.81 for 15^th place.
• In the finals of the 5,000m run, Robert Allen recorded a top-10 finish with a personal-best time of 15:05.24 for ninth place.
• Mikhi Anderson was one of two athletes to best the previous 60m hurdles meet record in today's prelims as he finished second with a time of 8.15. Advancing to the finals with Anderson will be George Donovic who turned in a sixth place time of 8.57 as he set a new personal-best. Just outside of the top-10 in the event was AJ Cherico who clocked a time of 9.73 for 11^th place.
• In the finals of the distance medley relay, the team of Jasper Brown, Williams, Tavian Richardson, and Brody Cermak recorded a sixth place finish and a time of 10:52.90.
• In the pole vault finals, the pair of Reese Burnside and Julius Hobbs posted top-3 finishes on the day with marks of 4.45m and 4.00m for second and third place respectively.
• The trio of BriJaun Baylor, Daminn Cunningham, and Quinn Ashbroke each recorded team points for the Hilltoppers in the long jump. Baylor rounded out the top-5 with a season-best mark of 6.64m while Cunningham turned in a sixth place result with a jump of 6.48 and Ashbrooke was eighth with a personal-best mark of 6.37m.
• Fancher notched a runner-up finish in the finals of the shot put with a season-best throw of 16.08m. Jordyn Dickerson also competed and recorded a mark of 12.81m for 15^th place.
• A total of four Hilltoppers finished inside the top-10 of the heptathlon's 60m dash, led by Shane Anderson with a fifth place finish and time of 7.72. He was joined by Malachi Stewart in seventh with a time of 7.91, Jacob Huffman in eighth with a time of 7.97, and Jonathan Stout who was tenth with a time of 8.08.
• Anderson recorded his second top-5 finish in the heptathlon with a fourth place finish in the high jump and mark of 1.80m. Joining him in the top-10 once again are Huffman and JD Henderson who were tied for sixth with jumps of 1.65m.
• With a sixth place finish in the heptathlon's long jump, Anderson added his third top-10 of the afternoon with a mark of 5.69m while Huffman was sixth with a jump of 5.12m. Henderson and Stewart rounded out the top-10 with ninth and tenth place finishes and marks of 4.91 and 4.87m respectively.
• Leading the way once again for WLU in the heptathlon with a sixth place shot put finish was Anderson with a throw of 8.55m. He was joined in the top-10 by Stewart, Stout, and Huffman who claimed 8-10^th place with throws of 8.40m, 8.21m, and 7.69m respectively.
• With four top-10 finishes, Anderson currently sits fifth in the heptathlon standings with 2,190 total points. Also in the top-10 are Huffam in seventh (1,825 points), Henderson in eighth (1,825 points), and Stewart rounds out the top-10 with 1,637 points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• With an eighth place finish in the prelims, Ky'Ara Ross qualified for the finals in the 60m dash with a school-record time of 7.85, while Sierra Lanham just missed the cut in ninth place as she crossed the line in a personal-best time of 7.88. Abbe Stackpole also competed in the event and notched a 12^th place finish with a time of 8.18.
• Lanham qualified for tomorrow's finals in the 200m dash with a school-record time of 25.78. Ross and Brookelyn Reynolds recorded 12^th and 15^th place finishes with times of 26.41 and 26.92 respectively.
• Reynolds was the lone competitor in the 400m dash as she recorded a time of 61.68 for 12^th place in the prelims of the event.
• In the 5,000m run finals, Morgan Lesnansky earned a 13^th place finish for the Hilltoppers as she ran to a personal-best time of 19:25.59.
• Marissa Scott rounded out the top-10 of the 60m hurdles prelims as she crossed the line in a time of 9.55. Hope Gestl also competed for WLU and finished 15^th with a personal-best time of 10.05.
• The distance medley relay team of Ally Hicks, Gestl, Emma Flynn, and Lesnansky recorded a seventh place finish in the finals of the event, clocking a time of 14:07.79.
• Ross won her first career MEC Championship with a first place finish in the long jump finals, posting a new meet and school record mark of 5.63m. Lanham also secured points for the Hilltoppers in the team race as she made it a 1-2 finish for WLU, recording a season-best mark of 5.56m for second place. Lauren Wyatt rounded out the events top-10 with a jump of 4.70m.
• Kennedy Martin secured a top-3 finish in the shot put finals as she recorded a school-record throw of 12.50m for third place and six team points for West Liberty. Rounding out the top-10 of the event was Kaylee Savage as she notched a season-best mark of 10.99m while Sierra Davis and Jennifer DiLullo earned 11^th and 16^th with throws of 10.90m and 10.32m respectively. Davis set a new personal-best mark with her throw.

UP NEXT
The West Liberty track & field teams are set for the second and final day of competition at the 2024 MEC Indoor Championships on Saturday as the action starts with the multis at 10 a.m. inside the Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Facility in Huntington, West Virginia.