Pittsburgh, Pa. – The West Liberty University men's and women's track & field teams were in action at the Benson/Hodge Memorial Invitational, hosted by Robert Morris, and the Jesse Owens Classic, hosted by Ohio State, on Friday afternoon. The Hilltoppers recorded five top-10 finishes on the day as well as four career-best marks, highlighted by Haley Norris' fifth place finish and career-best mark in the hammer throw in Pittsburgh. Additionally on the women's side, Sierra Lanham posted a top-10 finish in the long jump and was second among DII athletes in Columbus. The lone men's athlete competing during the day was Cody Bolyard with a top-10 mark in the men's hammer throw at Robert Morris.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S TRACK & FIELD (BENSON/HODGE MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL)

• Cody Bolyard was the lone Hilltopper to compete in the hammer throw, finishing sixth with a top-10 mark of 33.50m (109' 11").

HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD (BENSON/HODGE MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL)

• Haley Norris led a trio of Hilltoppers who posted career-best marks for top-10 finishes in the hammer throw as she finished fifth with a mark of 41.70m (136' 9"). She was joined by Grace Brockmeier and Catherine Neely who notched personal-best marks of 35.92m (117' 10") and 35.83m (117' 6") for ninth and tenth place. Athletes recording season-best marks were Katherine Hill in 12^th with a throw of 34.46m (113' 0") and Emma Haley who was 14^th with a throw of 31.44m (103' 1"). Rounding out the WLU throwers in the event was Leah Delaney in 15^th with a distance of 31.09m (102' 0").
• Just outside of the top-10 in the shot put was Norris and Brockmeier who posted season-best throws of 9.96m (32' 8.25") and 9.56m (31' 4.5") for 11^th and 12^th respectively. Delaney tied for 13^th in the event with a mark of 9.32m (30' 7") while Jennifer DiLullo was 16^th with a throw of 8.76m (28' 9"). Rounding out the WLU athletes in the event was Haley who notched a season-best mark of 7.67m (25' 2") for 17^th place.
• Leading West Liberty in the discus throw was Neely who was 12^th with a mark of 31.25m (102' 6"). DiLullo notched a personal-best mark in the event with a throw of 30.50m (100' 0") for 15^th place. Rounding out the group of Hilltopper athletes in the event was Brockmeier and Haley who recorded throws of 29.97m (98' 4") and 18.27m (59' 11") for 16^th and 21^st respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD (JESSE OWENS CLASSIC)

• With a mark of 5.57m (18' 3.25"), Sierra Lanham was second among DII athletes who competed as she finished ninth in the long jump for a top-10 finish. Also competing in the event was Ky'Ara Ross who finished 22^nd with a jump of 5.25m (17' 2.75").

UP NEXT
West Liberty will conclude this week's action tomorrow as they are set to compete at the Jesse Owens Classic, hosted by Ohio State, and the Mountaineer Twilight, hosted by West Virginia. The meet in Columbus, Ohio, begins at 10:30 a.m. with field events and 1 p.m. for track events at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, while in Morgantown, West Virginia, the field events will start at 11 a.m. and the track events start at 2 p.m. at The Track & Field Complex at Mylan Park.