WICHITA, Kan. — Southwestern College's men's and women's track and field teams will head to Wichita this week to compete in the Friends University Spring Invitational, a three-day meet set for April 2-4 at Adair Austin Stadium.

The invitational begins Thursday with the opening events of the decathlon and heptathlon along with select field events, continues Friday with multi-events and a distance carnival, and concludes Saturday with a full slate of running and field competitions.

Southwestern enters the meet looking to build on early outdoor season performances across multiple event groups.

On the women's side, sophomore Abigail Eckert has led the way in the sprints and jumps, posting a time of 13.53 seconds in the 100 meters while also recording a long jump of 4.48 meters. Senior Lauryn Peterson has paced the middle-distance group with a time of 3:04.26 in the 800 meters.

In the throws, Malia Pearson and Vanessa Mendoza have provided consistency. Pearson has recorded a 33.78-meter mark in the discus along with a 10.71-meter throw in the shot put, while Mendoza has added a 37.84-meter effort in the hammer throw and 30.21 meters in the discus.

On the men's side, freshman Ben Patowski has highlighted the sprint group with times of 11.02 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.33 in the 200. Manuel Reyes has contributed in both sprints and hurdles, including a 59.94 mark in the 400-meter hurdles.

In the field events, freshman Luke Peffer has led Southwestern with a high jump of 1.87 meters and a long jump of 6.60 meters. JJ Crawford has added depth with a 6.17-meter long jump and a 37.64-meter throw in the javelin.

The Moundbuilders have also seen contributions in the throws from Anthony Mendoza and Emerson Williams, who have recorded marks across the discus, hammer, and shot put.

With a full weekend of competition ahead, the meet provides another opportunity for Southwestern athletes to improve marks and continue progress toward NAIA qualifying standards as the outdoor season moves forward.