Wayne, Neb. – The Minnesota State women's outdoor track and field team started the outdoor season out of state, with squads traveling to Nebraska and Texas for competition.
 
In Nebraska, freshman Maya Shorter placed first in her opening outdoor javelin throw as a Maverick. The freshman's best throw went for 39.16m (128' 05"), ranking her in 36^th for the National NCAA DII Women's Track and Field rankings for the season and fifth in the MSU women's all-time top outdoor performances. Junior Esther Miller also made the top ten in the event, with a ninth-place finish with a throw of 29.87m (98').
 
In the women's hammer throw, freshman Lauren Bird took second place with a throw of 51.33m (168' 05"), ranking 16^th nationally and 8^th on the MSU women's overall all-time top outdoor performances list. Teammate freshman Aubri Brown, placed eighth in the event with a throw of 47.16m (154' 08") and just scratches the MSU overall outdoor performances list at 15th.
 
Three Mavericks placed in the top ten for the women's shot put event. Senior Madeline Freitag threw for 12.98m (42' 07") to place fifth in the event, 24^th nationally. Brown took 9^th in the event, followed closely by freshman Jadyn Hart, placing 10^th.
 
Senior Mack Rath placed third in the women's discus throw and increased her lead at 14^th in the overall Minnesota State women's all-time top outdoor performances. Rath threw for a personal best of 44.99m (147' 07") and lands at 14^th nationally with the throw. Freshman Elise Jensen also made the podium with a sixth-place finish after throwing for 42.49m (139' 05") and ranking 37^th nationally. Freitag and Shorter also made the top ten in the event, placing seventh and tenth, respectively.
 
The Mavericks also competed in one running event for the day, with sophomore Alexa Post placing eighth in the women's 200m with a time of 27.54 seconds.
 
Competing at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, senior Denisha Cartwright competed in the 100m hurdles preliminary race, finishing with the top time at 12.91 with finals to take place tomorrow. Cartwright also placed seventh in the 100m dash, smashing her own personal best with a time of 11.17 seconds, and beating her own top time on the MSU women's outdoor overall performances list by 13 seconds. In the 100m dash timed final, junior Adeyah Brewster took sixteenth (11.69s) and now ranks 8^th on the MSU overall outdoor list.
 
The Texas Relays will finish competition tomorrow. Competition for the Mavericks overall squad will continue next weekend, April 5^th-6^th and the USD Early Bird in Vermillion, S.D.