Vermillion, S.D. – The Mavericks traveled to South Dakota for the weekend, coming away with a triple jump championship and five national ranking marks.
 
The USD Early Bird started on Friday, April 5^th, with senior MaKenna Thurston taking second in the 800m run with a time of 2:16.11. Senior Cassidy O'Meara placed eighth after running a 2:18.67. Also competing was freshman Addison Peed, running a 2:19.89 and finishing 14^th.
 
Senior Eilika Lane ran the 400m hurdles in 1:00.68 to place third, earning a spot on the MSU all-time top performances list at second overall, and ranking fifth on the national rankings.
 
In the 3000m steeplechase, sophomore Madison Matzek placed fourth with a time of 11:22.00 and now ranks eighth on the MSU all-time list.
 
Freshman Maya Shorter threw the javelin 37.39m (122' 08") to place fifth, moving into eighth on the MSU all-time list.
 
Three Mavericks competed in the discus led by senior Madeline Fretag with a throw of 44.92m (147' 04") to place fifth. Tying for sixth was junior Mack Rath, throwing for 43.02m (141' 02"), was freshman Elise Jensen not far behind in ninth, after throwing 40.61m (133' 03").
 
Yesterday, junior Tijuanique Morton ran an 11.66s (5.3mph wind speed) 100m dash, placing second in the event. Finishing 10^th-13^th were junior Antianna Walsh (11.97s), sophomore Norah D'Almeida (11.99s), freshman Madison Hubbard (12.08s), and senior Rose Cramer (12.10s), respectively. Allowable wind speed for national rankings is 2.0mph and MSU all-time list is 4.0mph.
 
In the 100m hurdles, freshman Esaba Okwaramoi placed second with a time of 14.15s (4.0mph wind speed), and ranking 10^th on the MSU all-time list. Sophomore Miranda Lauvstad ran a time of 14.70s to finish fourth.
 
Eight Maverick runners placed within the top 15 for the 200m dash. Making the podium was Morton at second (24.77s), Cramer at third with a time of 25.01s, and Walsh with a time of 25.01s to place fourth. Lane finished seventh with a time of 25.55s, with D'Almeida crossing the line right after with a time of 25.60s. Lauvstad finished 10^th after a time of 25.94s. Placing 13^th was freshman Victoriia Ermolaeva with a time of 26.20s, followed by sophomore Kaia Martz in 14^th after a time of 26.22s.
 
Lauvstad also competed in the high jump, tying for 12^th with height of 1.55m (5' 01.00").
 
Senior Paige Hickson placed fifth in the pole vault with a personal best vault of 4.15m (13' 07.25"). This height puts Hickson at sixth in the national rankings and moves to second on the MSU all-time performances list. Freshman Hope Stangel tied for ninth with a mark of 3.75m (12' 03.50") and ranks ninth on the MSU all-time list. Also in a tie was junior Paige Bauer, tying for 12^th after clearing 3.45m (11' 03.75"). The last Maverick to make the top 15 was sophomore Jenna Sikel with a height of 3.30m (10' 10") to tie for 15^th place.
 
Topping the podium in the triple jump was junior Stella Neophytou, with a mark of 12.12m (39' 09.25"). This jump places Neophytou on the national rankings at 14^th. Placing second was sophomore Lillian Washington with a jump of 12.00m (39' 04.50"), now tying for 23^rd in the national rankings. Freshman Ghada Hamdani jumped 11.97m (39' 03.25") to place third, rank seventh on the MSU all-time list, and tie for 25^th nationally. Also, in the long jump, Hamdani jumped a length of 5.35m (17' 06.75") to place seventh.
 
For the final event, junior Esther Miller placed fourth in the heptathlon with 4016 points. Miller placed second in the 100m hurdles and tied for third in the high jump. Freshman Kate Mohr finished with 3345 points to place 10^th, with sophomore Melanie Marks claiming 3133 points to finish in 11^th. Freshman Brianna Villanti also competed, finishing 13^th with a total of 3008 points.
 
The Mavericks continue the outdoor season out of state in California this next week, finishing next weekend at home with the Maverick Invitational.