Saturday’s afternoon showers may have tested the focus and perseverance of the 2,400 athletes at the Bushyhead Track; however, the Washington University track and field teams were not going to let the weather distract them from taking care of business. At the WUSTL Invitational Friday and Saturday, the Bears put on a show, concluding the second meet of their outdoor season with three first-place finishes and a school record as the women’s and men’s teams placed second and third, respectively.

Out of 36 scoring teams, the women’s scored 81.5 points, only a half point shy of first-place Saint Louis University, a Division I school. On the men’s side, the Red and Green competed against 32 other scoring teams and finished with 61.5 points, falling short of Southwest Baptist University (86 points) and William Woods University (69 points). Satisfied with his team’s performance, head coach Jeff Stiles described the meet as “big all around.”

“We had a lot of lifetime [personal records], which is pretty exciting,” Stiles said. “The weather wasn’t perfect, but we still performed and competed really well. There’s a lot more to go, but we responded really well to the challenges that we faced. We had so many good performances, and we did very well in every area. The performances that we saw these past two days have been very optimistic, and I think we’re in a great position to win conference for sure.”

On the men’s side, sophomore Connor Duermit dominated in the men’s javelin as he placed first in the event, posting a career-best distance of 59.10 meters, which ranks second all-time at Wash. U.

“He really had a good day out there,” Stiles said. “I was impressed by his performance, and it all worked out in the end. There’s still work to be done, but I like what I’m seeing.”

Junior Anna Etherington and freshman Emily Warner led the way for the women’s team as each took care of business in her individual event, bringing home first place. Etherington posted a clearance of 3.80 meters in the women’s pole vault, beating second place by a margin of 0.20 meters. Sophomore Claire Simons finished third at 3.45 meters. In the women’s 800-meter race, Warner took the top spot, finishing with a time of 2:13.59, while freshman Bri Tiffany placed second, recording a time of 2:17.91.

“Warner was pretty dominant in the 800, and even though it wasn’t her best, she still did very well,” senior Anne Diaz-Arrastia said. “It was nice to have us finish in the top two spots, and it was just an exciting moment with the people cheering for her and Bri.”

In the women’s javelin, sophomore Melissa Gilkey posted a distance of 41.46 meters, improving her career-best mark by more than one meter, finishing the event in third and breaking the school record of 41.21 meters, which was set by Alli Alberts in 2009.

In the women’s long jump, Diaz-Arrastia placed second with a leap of 5.40 meters, while freshman Natasha Tillett came in fourth with a distance of 4.97 meters. Although Diaz-Arrastia was worried that she would miss the finals after receiving two fouls out of three attempts in the preliminary round, she finally got a legal mark on her third try and took advantage of the opportunity in the finals.

“This was technically my first meet since I missed last week’s, so it was nice getting my feet wet,” Diaz-Arrastia said. “I’m pretty satisfied with my mark, although I do think that I should have gone further. But overall, I’m glad I got to compete in the finals after getting those two fouls at the beginning.”

The Red and Green had two other runner-up finishes at the meet as Diaz-Arrastia and Warner teamed up with juniors Nkele Davis and Jasmine Williams in the 1600 relay, clocking a time of 3:59.59, and sophomore Drew Padgett posted a career-best time of 4:01.55 in the 1500. Although Padgett was out for the entire indoor season, freshman Vince Stephen believes that Padgett’s hard work in rehab has paid off.

“I think he’s off to a great start, and he’s in a great position for improving throughout the season,” Stephen said. “I’m glad to see him bounce back, and it’s going to be interesting to see him improve in these next few weeks.”

Other notable events for the men’s included the 1600 relay with freshmen James Fitzhugh, Alex Bastian and Connor Furlong and junior Arthur Townsend as the team placed third with a time of 3:23.01. Sophomore Nick Alaniva performed well in the men’s pole vault, posting a clearance of 4.45 meters and placing third, while sophomore Troy Makous posted a height of 4.30 meters and finished seventh.

The Red and Green will return to action next Saturday as they attend the WUSTL Select Meet.