MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's track & field team was back at it on Saturday to begin the outdoor season by hosting the Cougar Open. UMN Morris finished the meet in third place out of five teams with 103 points on the day.

A pair of Cougar throwers added their names to the program's record book in the hammer throw. Luke Petersen won the event with a distance of 160-2 (48.82 meters), ranking second all-time in school history. Bryan Zepeda was second in the event on the day, submitting the fifth-best throw in school history of 153-5 (46.76 meters).

On the track, Duncan Vandergon was fourth for Minnesota Morris in the 100 Meter Dash (12.04 seconds) and finished as the runner-up in the 200 Meter Dash (24.57 seconds). Joshua Welch was ninth in the 200 (25.65 seconds) and took fourth in the 400 Meter Dash (59.39 seconds).

In the middle distance events, Rory Shackelford finished second in the 1,500 Meter Run with a time of 4:26.68, while Joel Knopp was fourth in 4:28.34. The Cougars had a 1-2-4 finish in the 5,000 Meter Run as Gregory Peterson won the event in 16:48.66, with Grady Larsen close behind in second at 16:53.20. Sage Durdle took fourth place in 18:10.78.

In one final event on the track for Minnesota Morris, Conrad Barrozo was second in the 110 Meter Hurdles with a time of 16.85 seconds.

The Cougars had a number of top finishes in the throwing events. In the shot put, Cody Nye was third with a distance of 46-3.50 (14.11 meters), while Justin Robinson also scored with a heave of 41-10.75 (12.77 meters). Nye and Zepeda were the scorers for UMN Morris in the discus as Nye took sixth at 116-9 (35.59 meters), with Zepeda close behind in seventh at 114-6 (34.91 meters). 

Finally, in the javelin, Robinson had the best finish for Minnesota Morris by taking third with a distance of 138-11 (42.35 meters). Austin Robinson was sixth in the event at 122-2 (37.25 meters).

The Cougars will return to action on April 9 with a trip to Saint John's University for the CSB/SJU Open.