Frostburg, Md. – The West Liberty University men's and women's track & field teams once again found themselves with a pair of top-5 finishes at the Mountain East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships as the 2024 meet came to a close on Tuesday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium. With a total of 108 team points the men's program recorded a second place finish as they finished within the top-5 for the fourth time in the last five years, while the women's program tallied 101 points for fourth place and their fourth consecutive top-5 finish at the outdoor conference championships. Highlighting day three action was the Hilltoppers third individual conference title of the meet as Mikhi Anderson posted an NCAA Division II provisional time to win the 110m hurdles. Additionally, four school-records fell on the afternoon as the men's and women's 4x100 relays posted program best marks, the women's 4x400 relay team broke a record that withstood 19 years, and Lacey Dimit broke a record that withstood 24 years in the 800m run. Following the conclusion of the meet, Ky'Ara Ross was named the MEC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• West Liberty was one of five teams that crossed the finish line separated by just 0.21 seconds as the team of Nathan Baker, Mikhi Anderson, Arthur Williams, and Lorenzo Ferrera turned in a school-record time of 41.53 for fifth place.
• Running to a time of 4:10.30 in the 1,500m run was Philip White as he finished 12^th overall in the event.
• Claiming his fifth career MEC title in track & field, Anderson defended his championship in the 110m hurdles as he led from start to finish with an NCAA Division II provisional time of 14.24.
• Clocking a time of 10.92 in the 100m dash, Ferrera recorded a sixth place finish for the Hilltoppers.
• Tavian Richardson and Francis Toohey notched a sixth and eighth place time respectively in the 800m run for WLU, posting times of 1:55.67 and 1:57.08.
• In the 400m hurdles, Dorde Donovic earned a sixth place finish as he improved upon his prelim time for a new career-best time of 57.00.
• The 4x400 relay team of Williams, Toohey, Anderson, and Richardson posted a season-best time of 3:25.19 for a sixth place finish in the event.

HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• A late push in the final leg of the 4x100 relay wasn't quite enough for West Liberty as the team of Ky'Ara Ross, Abbe Stackpole, Madison Cadle, and Sierra Lanham was edged by 0.05 seconds by Frostburg State as they clocked a school-record time of 47.51 for second place.
• Brookelyn Reynolds improved upon her career-best time set yesterday afternoon as she lowered her time by 0.05 seconds, crossing the line sixth overall with a time of 59.39.
• In the 100m dash, Lanham notched a seventh place finish as she crossed the line in a time of 12.47.
• Breaking a school-record that's stood since 2000, Lacey Dimit posted a new career-best time of 2:20.58 for fourth place in the 800m run.
• Lanham and Ross collected a sixth and seventh place finish respectively for the Hilltoppers in the 200m dash, as they posted times of 25.66 and 25.97.
• Morgan Lesnansky notched a top-10 finish in the 5,000m run as she crossed the finish line in a time of 19:32.51 for ninth place.
• In the final event of the championships, the 4x400 relay team of Reynolds, Dimit, Stackpole, and Lanham broke a school-record that's stood since 2005 with a time of 4:04.46 for fourth place to propel the Hilltoppers up one spot to fourth on the team leaderboard. 

UP NEXT
West Liberty will be in action once again this weekend on Saturday, May 4, as they will send athletes to the WVU Last Chance meet, in an effort to hit NCAA provisional marks. The meet will get started with field events at 11 a.m. while track events will start at 3 p.m. at the Mylan Park Track & Field Complex in Morgantown, West Virginia.