Track and Field Set for John McDonnell Invitational

Meet Schedule (PDF) 

SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State track and field team will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., Friday to compete in the John McDonnell Invitational to continue its outdoor season.  
 

Keeping Track of the Bears  

• Missouri State will travel 23 athletes to the John McDonnell Invitational over the weekend. Eleven of those individuals will compete in two events apiece.  

• The University of Arkansas will serve as meet host of the annual invitational. This will be the second time in as many years the Bears have sent competitors to the meet.  

• MSU has 34 individual entries that will compete over 14 events at the invitational. The Bears will also have three relay teams in action, one entered in the 4×100-meter and two in the 4×400-meter relay. 

• The distance group will have an opportunity to shine Friday as the Bears will race 12 athletes between the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter runs.  

• MSU is coming off the Bryan Clay Invitational which saw several Bears earn lifetime bests against tough competition from across the country.  

• Calandra Henry led the Bears over the weekend and not only ended the 100-meter dash with a first-place medal but eclipsed her former lifetime best by two one-hundredths of a second, racing a time of 11.50 seconds in a field of 89 competitors. The senior sprinter also found success in the 200-meter, finishing eighth with a time of 23.69 seconds. 

• DaeLin Switzer narrowly missed the podium for the Bears, finishing in fourth place against a deep field. The sophomore leapt to a height of 1.72 meters, a personal best.  

• The Bears recorded a second-place team finish in their second outdoor outing and only team scored meet of the season at the SBU Bearcat Invitational. 

• The Bears kicked off their outdoor campaign on Friday, March 24, hosting MSU’s first home meet since April 22, 2016. 

• Ten seniors were honored at the Bears’ home meet and first outdoor showing of the weekend including Cheyenne White, Manuela Ngo Tonye Nyemeck, O’Shayla Muldrow, Blair Sebastian, Tamera Rhode, Calandra Henry, Edna Dar, Claudrice McKoy, Ashley Rolewicz and Shelby Palmer. 

• Last season the Bears ended their outdoor season with a strong showing at the MVC Outdoor Championships finishing fifth out of nine teams. MSU had two NCAA Regional Qualifiers to end the year with Rochelle Etienne (Javelin Throw) and Jamilah James (Triple Jump) representing the Bears on a national scale.  

• Head coach Jordan Fife is in his fifth year as head coach and ninth overall with the program after a four-year stint as an assistant. Fife also took over the head coaching duties of the cross country team in 2014. 

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