Fayette, Mo. - The Central Methodist Track and Field program hosted the highly anticipated CMU Invite Friday and Saturday at Davis Field and Hairston Track. 

The two-day meet featured several prominenant programs from the NAIA, junior college, and NCAA levels.

Teams competing included; University of the Cumberlands, Lincoln, UMKC, Mount Mercy, William Penn, Morningside, Webster, Culver-Stockton, Westminster, Highligh Community College, Quincy University, Missouri Valley College, William Woods, MidAmerica Nazarene, and Graceland. 

The Eagles also honored their senior class which included; Parys Smith, Evan Workman, Ethan Smith, Adam Trachsel, Kaleb Small, Grant Engel, Meshack Kiptanui, Renee Finke, Sakoya Johnson, Doriye Jackson, Kyle Newberry, and Elliott Reed. 

Zakiya Porter finished second in the women's 100m dash with a time of 11.84 seconds. Additionally, she placed third in the 200m dash after crossing the finish line in 24.46 seconds. Her time in the 200m dash met the national qualifying standard for this year's National Championships. 

Teammate Joana Vakasobuduru was right behind in the event, placing fourth in 24.65. Her time also secured a spot at this year's NAIA National Championships. 

Renee Finke earned a runner-up finish and qualified for nationals in the 100m hurdles, running a new personal best time of 14.08 seconds. She was followed by Parys Smith who ran a time of 14.55 seconds to finish third. Finke also tied for second in the high jump after clearing a height of 1.56 meters. 

The 4x100m relay team of Porter, Smith, Vakasobuduru, and Diane Ondobo finished second in the event, clocking a new school record time of 47.09 seconds. With their final time, the quartet secured a spot at this year's NAIA Outdoor National Championships.

The 4x400m relay made up of Ondobo, Allena Rowland, Aroa Carballo, and Vakasobuduru also earned a runner-up finish after running a final time of 3:50.32, also punching their ticket to nationals in May. 

Kali Brown won the Hammer Throw with a toss of 46.32 meters.

Vakasobuduru took home first place in the javelin with a new school record throw of 39.61 meters, shattering the previous mark by almost two meters. 

Haley Bellamy won the women's heptathlon after tallying 4,625 total points. The junior placed first in the 100m hurdles, high jump, and long jump while also placing second in the 800m run and the shot put. With her point tally, Bellamy punched her ticket to nationals in May. She also qualified for nationals in the high jump after clearing a height of 1.66 meters. 

On the men's side, Hugo Massa won the 800m run with a time of 1:56.76. Newberry placed third in the 1500m run after running a time of 4:10.10. 

The men's relay teams had a tremendous amount of success, as all three teams finished either first or second in their respective races. 

The 4x100m relay team of Trachsel, Charles Young, Sam Thomas and Tristan Boyce finished second, running a season's best time of 40.89 seconds and punching their ticket to the NAIA Outdoor National Championships.  

The 4x400m relay team of David Ceballos, Massa, Logan Bass, and Thomas also placed second, completing the relay in 3:19.49. 

Finally, the 4x800m relay team of Massa, Jacchaeus Taylor, Ceballos, and Doriye Jackson finished first with a time of 7:42.44 seconds, securing their spot at nationals. 

In the men's high jump, Harvey Sayon placed second after clearing a height of 1.91 meters.

Brayton Stephenson won the shot put with a toss of 16.90 meters, hitting the 'A' standard and improving up his national qualifying mark. Teammate Colder Evans finished third after hitting a mark of 16.13 meters, also punching his ticket to nationals. 

Evans and Stephenson finished 1-2 in the discuss with throws of 50.88 and 48.27 meters respectively, with Evans qualifying for nationals with his throw. Evans finished an impressive weekend of throwing events with a second place standing in the hammer throw after finishing with a toss of 53.16 meters. 

Workman placed third in the javelin, hitting a mark of 49.86 meters. 

Ethan Smith and Hunter Cary went 1-2 in the decathlon after tallying 6,459 and and 6,359 points respectively. Smith took home first place in the following decathlon events; 1500m run, pole vault, and shot put. Both athletes punched their ticket to nationals with their finishes in the 10-event marathon. 

Central will next compete in the Lincoln Open Saturday, April 5 in Jefferson City, Missouri. 

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