In the second outdoor competition of the season, Marshall senior Evan White won the men’s 1500-meter run on day two of the FSU Relays with a time of 3 minutes and 55.62 seconds  in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday, March 22.

Going into the FSU Relays, Keith Roberts, coach and director of Track and Field and Cross Country, saw some progress being made.

“Last week, we had some breakout performances which has given us some good momentum going into the outdoor season,” he said. “We have some stellar competition- all outdoor, and the FSU Relays will provide us with great competition to prepare for conference.”

At the end of the race, White edged past fellow senior Ronnie Saunders at the finish line to win the race. Saunders finished second in the event with a time of 3 minutes and 55.78 seconds.

After the first outdoor competition for Marshall at the Charlotte 49er Classic on March 15 and 16, Roberts liked the progress he was seeing.

Senior Kylee Mastin set a new school record in the women’s 800-meter run, setting a time of 2 minutes and 09.81 seconds en route to a second place finish behind Florida State’s Suus Altorf. She broke her own record of 2 minutes and 10.62 seconds, which was set last outdoor season.

On the first day of the meet, junior thrower Rebecca Merritt set Marshall’s second-best mark in school history in the women’s hammer throw with a toss of 58.14 meters (190-9) on her first throw of the competition.

Along with Merritt, senior Josie Moore and sophomore Markayla Moore placed fourth and fifth in the women’s hammer throw. Josie and Markayla had throws of 52.94 meters (173-8) and 50.59 meters (165-11), respectively.

Junior John Purvis placed fourth in the men’s hammer throw, setting a mark of 50 meters (164-0) on his second throw.

In the women’s high jump, Australian sophomore Lara Check tied for second with a personal best jump of 1.64 meters (5-4 1/2).

Junior Quay Harrison placed eighth in the men’s high jump, making a jump of 1.85 meters (6-0 3/4).

Markayla Moore and Check placed sixth and eighth in the women’s shot put with throws of 12.90 meters (42-4) and 11.30 meters (37-1), respectively.

In the men’s long jump, freshman Grant Swider placed sixth with a jump of 6.49 meters (21-3 1/2) in the fourth attempt.

Junior Tyra Thomas placed third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, running a time of 13.86 seconds.

Purvis placed fourth in the men’s shot put with a throw of 15.51 meters (50-10 3/4). Freshman Anthony Dunbar placed fifth in the event with a throw of 14.52 meters (47-7 3/4).

The women’s 4×100-meter team of Thomas, Marlee Porter, Dezire Gee and Kennedy Pedro placed third with a time of 47.32 seconds. The men’s 4×100-meter team of Ethan Bowens, Emihr White, Joshua Roush and Isaiah Valentine placed second with a time of 42.85 seconds.

Freshman Nyah Harrison placed eighth in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 57.26 seconds.

Merritt placed seventh in the women’s discus throw with a toss of 47.86 meters (157-0) on her third attempt of the competition.

Purvis placed fourth in the men’s discus throw with a toss of 48.75 meters (159-11) on his fifth attempt of the competition.

In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, freshman Peter Oliveira placed eighth with a time of 58.59 seconds. Sophomore Carson Casto placed ninth, just shy of Oliveira with a time of 58.78 seconds.

Grad student Abby Herring placed second in the women’s 1500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes and 26.75 seconds. Sophomore Hannah Wyler placed sixth with a time of 4 minutes and 39.19 seconds.

Marshall Track and Field competes next at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 28 and 29.