In the Swede's first outdoor meet of the season at the McPherson College Open on March 15, 2008, junior Jessica Becker of Capitan, NM, picked up where she left off during the indoor season as she qualified for two events for the NAIA Outdoor National Track & Field Championships in Edwardsville, IL. 

Results  -  Qualifiying Standards

 

In the shot put, Becker surpassed the NAIA "A" Standard with her winning throw of 46-01.50; her winning throw of 137-06.00 in the discus surpassed the NAIA "B" Standard.  Both performances also broke meet records that she set a year ago.

 

Also winning events for the women were sophomore Michelle Baltimore of Yuma, AZ, in the hammer with a personal best 144-04.00 and senior Leah Clay of Lawrence, KS, in the 400m hurdles with 1:14.94.

 

The three women who posted runner-up performances included:  senior Anna Miller of Blue Rapids, KS, in the discus with 123-11.00; freshman Morgan Salter of Holcomb, KS, in the 5000m run with a personal best 19:59.56; and senior Hope Stieben of Otis, KS, in the javelin with 119-09.00.

 

Those women who finished 3rd included:  sophomore Gilda Alvarez of Yuma, AZ, in the discus with 115-5.00; sophomore Amber Dunham of Independence, KS, in the shot put with 39-09.00; and Miller in the hammer with 137-07.00.

 

For the men, freshman Ira Autrey of Houston, TX, won the triple jump with 42-05.00, while junior Nhial Malia of Highlands, TX, was 2nd in the 5000m run with 17:18.18.

 

Overall, the women finished 2nd in the team standings with 99 points, while the men were 6th with 46 points.

 

On March 21, the teams host the Swede Invite at the Anderson Track & Field Complex in Lindsborg, KS.