West Liberty’s men’s and women’s Track and Field teams had another successful weekend of competition, finishing third and second at the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by the University of Charleston on Saturday. With just one more meet before the Mountain East Conference Championships, the Hilltoppers continued their momentum following a positive start to the season.

Following a string of strong performances last weekend at the Westminster Invitational, the teams headed south to Charleston where they would compete in a 13-team meet. The hosts were the overall winners in both sections, edging out West Virginia Wesleyan by an impressive 144 points across the men’s sections and defeating the Lady Hilltoppers by 46 points.

On the women’s side, three first-place finishes and two runners-up secured an overall second place for WLU. Senior thrower Kelsi Hulit was again the pick of the athletes for the Toppers, winning both the shot put and discus events, while also finishing second in the hammer throw event. Hulit, who was recently named MEC Track Athlete of the Week, won the discus throw by an impressive 28 feet but was unfortunately pipped by Makayla Westry of West Virginia Wesleyan in the hammer throw, preventing her from finishing with another three-win meet.

Hailey Carreon had yet another win in the 100-meter-hurdles event, finishing with a time of 14.47 seconds, over 0.5 seconds faster than her own school record. Senior multi-event athlete Zayne Brakeall also competed in the event, finishing in seventh place with a personal record time of 16.15 seconds. Carreon was also part of the Toppers 4×100-meter relay squad alongside Shelby Bence, Abbe Stackpole and Makayla Rolince, with the team finishing third behind Charleston and Wesleyan. A second-place finish from Olivia Miller in the Pole Vault event solidified the team’s lead over Wesleyan and their place in the standings.

Head Coach Justin Simpson’s men’s squad finished third in the meet with three first-place finishes and a couple of second-place finishes of their own. In the 110-meter hurdles, Mikhi Anderson topped his own school record with a time of 14.86 seconds to win the race. Liam Vinskovich also earned himself a win, clearing 1.95m in the high jump, which puts him third in the MEC this spring. All-region standout Adam O’Donnell returned to action this weekend with a win in the Long Jump event, jumping 6.96 meters and securing second in the conference.

The Hilltoppers also sent some of their middle and long-distance runners to Lewisburg, Pa. to compete at the Bison Outdoor Classic, hosted by NCAA Division I Bucknell University. 2021 Cross Country of the year Hannah Kemp ran 37:05:77 in the 10km event, which topped her own school record and is the third-fastest run in the Atlantic Region this spring. The men’s 4×800 relay came second in a packed race with Danah Phillips, Tavian Richardson, Holden Ammons and Michael Harriman contributing to a time of 7:55:97, almost 15 seconds quicker than the previous school record.

Next up for the Hilltoppers is a trip to Morgantown to compete in the Mountaineer Showcase hosted by West Virginia University in their final meet before the MEC Championships.

For more information and to keep up to date with West Liberty’s track and field teams, go to hilltoppersports.com.