ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's and women's track & field team returned to action after more than a month away, making their outdoor season debut on Friday afternoon at the St. Thomas Tomcat Invitational. 

In a large meet with a number of NCAA Division I and II programs, Minnesota Morris had a trio of performances that still were noteworthy for earning spots in the program's record book. On the track, Rory Shackelford was 27th in the 1,500 Meters in a time of 4:09.46, the seventh-fastest time in program history. In throwing events, Luke Petersen had the best individual finish of the day for the Cougars with a third-place finish in the hammer throw (162-5, 49.51m), but it was Anthony Staryszak who etched his name in the record book with a 151-6 (46.19m) which is sixth all-time at UMN Morris. Likewise, Cody Nye had the top individual finish for the Cougars in the shot put, finishing fifth with a 45-11.25 (14.00m), but Staryszak had the 10th-best throw in school history with a 44-9.5 (13.65m) to take eighth in the event on the day.

Most of the other action for the men's team came on the track. The 4 x 100 Meter Relay team of Izayah Boss, Gage Rogers, Noah Rooney, and Duncan Vandergon came in sixth in 45.54 seconds. Boss had a 14th-place finish in the 100 Meter Dash, running a 11.37. Vandergon was 18th in the 200 Meter Dash with a 24.06. Joshua Welch was 27th in the 400 Meter Dash (55.84), while James Longua was 14th in the 400 Meter Hurdles (1:12.15). In the distance category, Grant Strukel had a 16th-place finish of 17:17.66 in the 5,000 Meters. Finally, in one other field event, Matt Kudrle was 16th by clearing a height of 5-5 (1.65m) in the high jump.

For the women's track & field team, it was an especially busy day for Kim Peters as she had the top times and marks for Minnesota Morris in the 100 Meter Dash (13.85), the long jump (14-7, 4.44m), and the triple jump (29-11.50, 9.13m). Other finishes on the track for the Cougars included a time of 29.70 from Paige Diekmann in the 200 Meter Dash, a 1:04.81 from Triniti Neuhart in the 400 Meter Dash, a 1:23.68 from Nibras Luqman in the 400 Meter Hurdles, a 2:57.65 from Taylor Prieve in the 800 Meters, and a 19:58.91 from Ilsa Hoaglund in the 5,000 Meters.

In three field events, Maggie Landwer tied for 14th in the pole vault by clearing 8-1.25 (2.47m), Ellie Beckius cleared 4-6.25 (1.38m) in the high jump, and Anna Briggs notched a 32-0.75 (9.77m) in the shot put.

The outdoor season continues next weekend for Minnesota Morris with a trip to Collegeville, Minn. for the Saint John's Open on April 15 starting at 11 a.m.