Iowa City, Iowa --- The Minnesota State University men's indoor track & field team was able to secure a fourth-place finish at the two-day Larry Wieczorek Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa.  The Mavericks trailed only three Big Ten institutions in the final standings, while the teams they finished ahead of included Big Ten member Wisconsin as well as three other Division I programs.
 
Junior James Gilbert turned in a magnificent performance in the unscored Hawkeye Pro Classic Division long jump competition.  Against a field that included three other jumpers currently ranked in the Top 100 in the world in the long jump, Gilbert bested them all with a winning mark of 7.44 m (24' 5").  
 
Tanner Maier also competed in the Hawkeye Pro Classic Division in his first appearance in the event this season, with his time of 1:52.36 good for fifth in the 800-meter run.  With the result, Maier has now provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
In scored Premier Division competition, senior Ben Schmied uncorked a career-best effort in the 800-meter event by claiming the individual title in the event with his blazing time of 1:52.37.  That was the fifth-best mark in program history, and Schmied also hit the provisional qualifying mark for the national championships. 
 
Sophomore Onyekachi Ukaobasi brought home a fourth-place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 14.19 m (46' 6.75").  In the 400-meter dash, senior Rashion Walker claimed a sixth-place finish by clocking in at 48.86.
 
MSU had two junior sprinters qualify for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles, as Abel Christiansen took fifth (8.12) and Renald Pierre finished eighth (8.49).  Junior shot putters Tommy Kucera (14.61 m; 47' 11.25") and Carter Aguilera (14.00 m; 45' 11.25") were 11^th and 12^th respectively.
 
The 4x400 relay team of freshman Qai Hussey, Walker, sophomore Junior Pontes Da Veiga, and senior Kenry Atubel closed out the competition for MSU on a high note as the quartet combined to cover the 1600 meters in 3:16.21, which was good for first place as well as provisionally qualifying for the national championships.  The time also now ranks fifth on the MSU all-time list in the event, and is 13^th in the nation.