(LEBANON, Ill., March 23)—The McKendree University men's track and field team kickoff off the outdoor portion of its 2014-15 season this past weekend at the Alabama Relays.
 
A trio of Bearcats registered top-15 performances in field events during the three-day meet that wrapped up on Saturday. Freshman Eric Imel (Chicago, IL/Schaumburg) had the highest finish of the weekend for McKendree with an eighth-place showing in the high jump. Imel cleared a height of 2.00 meters. Freshman Alex McCrite (Tamms, IL/Egyptian) was close behind in 13^th place at 1.95 meters.
 
Freshman Ryan Pearce (Villa Grove, IL/Villa Grove) rounded out the trio by grabbing 13^th place in the final standings of the shot put. Pearce recorded a top throw of 15.36 meters in the meet.
 
On the track, McKendree raced to 13^th place in the men's 4 x 400-meter relay. The Bearcats were represented in the race by sophomores Duane Cargill (Nassau, Bahamas/Liberty Christian Academy) and Grayson Horton (Crest Hill, IL/Joliet Catholic), along with freshmen Christopher Jackson (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) and Alexis Palmer (Parkland, FL/Nova).
 
In the 100-meter dash, sophomore Deonte Andresen nabbed 22^nd place with an effort of 11.28 seconds. McKendree had three individuals entered in the 400-meter dash and was led by Cargill in a time of 50.04 seconds. Palmer crossed the finish line in 50.12 seconds while Horton was next at 50.88 seconds.
 
The Bearcats will compete in the pair of meets this coming weekend. McKendree will be at the Washington University Invitational on Friday in St. Louis before heading to Fayette, Mo., on Saturday for the Central Methodist University Open.