(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 25)—The McKendree University women's track and field team took to the track Saturday at the John Craft Invitational. The day-long meet was hosted by Eastern Illinois University.
 
As a team, the Bearcats posted a total of eight top-10 finishes at the Craft Invitational. The strongest effort on the day for McKendree came in the triple jump, where the team took two of the top three spots. Freshman Mollie Bowman (Sullivan, IL/Sullivan) won the event with a leap of 10.63 meters, while freshman Rebecca McKee (Morris, IL/Morris) took third at 9.28 meters. McKee also posted a fifth-place showing in the long jump with a distance of 4.55 meters, while freshman Asaiah Hooks (Goodyear, AZ/Agua Fria) was right behind in sixth at 4.43 meters.
 
Freshman Julia Sangster (Round Lake, IL/Grant) collected a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with an effort of 9.97 seconds. In the 400-meter dash, sophomore Karis Johnson (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central) placed 10^th as she crossed the finish line in a final time of 1:02.82.
 
McKendree also had two athletes who competed in the pentathlon. Sophomore Tori Fulgham (East Alton, IL/Roxana) earned fourth place in the event with a combined score of 2,295 points. Fulgham's strongest performance came in the 800-meter run, where she topped the field with a time of 2:35.96. Sophomore Lindsey Jansen (St. Louis, MO/Lafayette) placed sixth in the pentathlon at 1,184 points.
 
In the women's distance relay, McKendree finished third overall with a time of 12:37.37.
 
Next weekend, McKendree will have teams competing at the Indiana Relays in Bloomington, Ind., and at the Indianapolis Track and Field Classic in Indianapolis.