ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. — Southwestern College turned in a series of solid individual performances Saturday at the Mark A. Phillips Open hosted by Cowley County Community College, with athletes from both the men's and women's track and field teams posting top-10 finishes across multiple events.
On the women's side, Abigail Eckert led the Moundbuilders with a pair of fifth-place finishes. The sophomore clocked a time of 13.53 seconds in the 100 meters and recorded a mark of 4.48 meters (14 feet, 8.5 inches) in the long jump.
Lauryn Peterson added a top-10 finish in the 800 meters, placing 10th in 3:04.26. In the throws, Malia Pearson posted a mark of 10.09 meters in the shot put to finish 11th and later took 10th in the discus at 33.78 meters. Teammate Vanessa Mendoza recorded a throw of 37.84 meters in the hammer for ninth place, while also competing in the shot put and discus.
The Southwestern men were highlighted by Manuel Reyes, who placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.94 seconds. Reyes also competed in the 100 meters, finishing 21st in 11.51.
Freshman Ben Patowski paced the sprinters, finishing 13th in the 100 meters (11.02) and 18th in the 200 meters (23.33). Logan Churchill followed in the 200 with a time of 23.51.
In the distance events, Jack Titgemeyer led Southwestern in the 800 meters with a 20th-place finish in 2:22.11, while Jamell Sanchez followed in 22nd (2:27.52).
Field events saw multiple top-10 efforts. Luke Peffer placed ninth in the long jump with a leap of 6.02 meters (19 feet, 9 inches), and Lyrix Howard cleared 1.72 meters (5 feet, 7.75 inches) for ninth in the high jump. Emerson Williams led the throws group with a ninth-place finish in the shot put (12.01 meters) and added a 13th-place mark in the discus.
Anthony Mendoza contributed across multiple events, including a 10th-place finish in the shot put (11.91 meters) and a 15th-place mark in the hammer (35.88 meters).
Southwestern continues its outdoor season next week as the Builders travel to Wichita for the Friends University Spring Invite. Multi-events begin on Thursday, with traditional events being contested on Friday and Saturday at Adair Austin Stadium.
