(Indianapolis, IN. Feb. 25) – The McKendree University track and field teams opened competition at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Championships Saturday in Indianapolis, IN.

The men's team sits in sixth place with 19 points after day one, while the women hold down the eight spot with 10 team points. Lewis University leads the way on for both the men and the women with the men's team holding 36 points and the women earning 59 on day one.

Sophomore Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland) led the way with a third place finish in the in the pole vault with a height of 4.52-meters to earn six team points for the Bearcats.

The distance medley relay squad took home three points with a sixth place finish after sophomores Andrew Gardewine (Effingham, IL/Effingham), Joseph Shannon, Trevor White (Highland, IL/Highland), and freshman Gabe Silva (Lebanon, IL/Lebanon) combined for a time of 10:33.90.

In preliminary action the McKendree sprinters dominated competition as the Bearcats earned the top three qualifying times with a trio of NCAA Provisional Standards in the 60-meter dash, headlined by senior Donovan Friscia (Jacksonville, FL/Bartram Trail) who posted a time of 6.84 seconds. Sophomore Demontez McCray (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) nabbed second place with a finish of 6.87 seconds, while junior Kevin Witcik (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) collected third place with a time of 6.89 seconds. Sophomore Tyree Allen (Country Club Hills, IL/Hillcrest) also advanced to the finals after placing seventh with a time of 7.02 seconds.

McCray returned in the 200-meter, earning the top qualifying time of 21.97 seconds. Allen will join him in the finals after advancing in the preliminary round with a time of 22.43 seconds. Allen also earned a spot in the finals in the 400-meter after placing eighth with a finish of 50.46 seconds.

Sophomore Darren Arzu (Chicago, IL/Hillcrest) will compete in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles after qualifying with a time of 8.58 seconds in his preliminary heat.

Three Bearcats advanced to the finals of the long jump led by sophomore Os Moore (Belleville, IL/Belleville East), who put up the fourth longest mark with a jump of 6.81-meters. Sophomore Lafayette Waters (Murrieta, CA/Murrieta Valley) and Jacob Troutman (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) also advanced after posting jumps of 6.69 and 6.61-meters respectively.

On the women's side the distance medley relay team placed third to bring home six team points as senior Karis Johnson (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central), junior Jordyn Looman (Centralia, IL/Centralia), sophomore Quincy McSweeney (Eureka, IL/Eureka), and freshman Shayna Phillips (Effingham, Il/Effingham) combined for a time of 12:17.21.

Sophomore Tatiana Nieves (Chicago, IL/Trinity) advanced to the finals in both the 200 and 400-meter with times of 26.12 seconds and 59.36 seconds. McSweeney also qualified in the 400-meter finishing just ahead of Nieves with a time of 59.29 seconds.

Junior Ciara Jones (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) will return in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles Sunday after finishing with the third best preliminary time of 8.96 seconds.

McKendree wraps up action Sunday at the GLVC Indoor Championships with coverage beginning at 11:15 a.m. ET on the GLVC Sports Network.

Live results of the conference meet are available on at GLVCsports.com/indoor17, while live streaming can also be found at GLVCSN.com.  Fans can also follow the championship coverage on Twitter via the hashtag, #GLVCtrack.