Strong winds greeted the Washington University track-and-field teams at Saint Louis University’s Billiken Invitational, but those gusts didn’t keep the Bears from taking care of business on Friday and Saturday as both the men’s and women’s teams finished first overall and combined for seven event winners.

Competing against 14 teams, the men’s team scored 172.5 points to edge out runner-up University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee by 5.5 points, while the women totaled 173.5 points to beat 15 teams and surpass the runner-up by 15.5 points. For head coach Jeff Stiles, the meet was a good indicator of how the team could potentially perform at the University Athletic Association Outdoor Championships.

“This is one of the most important meets of our season because our performances are meaningful of where we stand as a whole,” Stiles said. “We didn’t have the best weather out there today, but you can’t expect everything to always go your way. We competed hard, and this team is in great shape.”

On the men’s side, junior Nick Alaniva regained his dominance in the men’s pole vault, posting a height of 4.70 meters to tie the facility record and win the event. After struggling with his form in the past two meets, Alaniva made a few adjustments in his takeoff and tried to stay mentally relaxed.

“I definitely hit a bad stretch for a while, but I had more practice throughout this week and felt better going into this meet,” Alaniva said. “I was just focusing on the wrong parts of the [pole] vault and I needed to relax. I’m at my best when I just allow my body to take over and not worry too much.”

In the men’s 10,000-meter run, senior Kevin Sparks contributed a first-place finish as he clocked a time of 30:27.05 to rank eighth in NCAA Division III this season, while senior Michael Ellenberger placed second with a time of 30:38.38, which ranks 11th in Division III. According to Stiles, Sparks and Ellenberger’s success reflects their hard work in practice and competitive spirit on the track.

“They’re both great leaders for this team and have great focus on the task at hand,” Stiles said. “They do whatever it takes to get ready, and I’m happy to see them succeed. They just love to compete, and it’s been great to coach them.”

Missing most of the indoor season after being infected with appendicitis, junior Ryan Senci showed his strong recovery in the 1,500 as he placed first with a time of 4:10.85, while sophomore Billy Tucker came behind at fifth (4:19.19). The Bears also had top finishes in the men’s unseeded 200-meter dash as sophomore James Fitzhugh won the event with a time of 22.62 and was followed by junior Tim Elliot and senior Arthur Townsend, who finished fourth (23.02) and fifth (23.12), respectively.

Senior Anna Etherington led the women’s side with another dominant outing in the women’s pole vault. She posted a season-best mark of four meters to win the event and rank second in Division III, while junior Claire Simons placed second with a height of 3.55 meters and senior Moira Killoran placed fifth with 3.25 meters. Sophomore Emily Warner added a first-place finish for the Bears in the unseeded 200, clocking a time of 25.71. According to senior Jasmine Williams, Warner wasn’t expecting to race in the event until Stiles decided it would be a good warm-up for her in the last minute.

Warner “is always ready to go at any time, and she’s just such a strong and fast runner,” Williams said. “She may have been surprised going into the race, but her will to win makes her great on the track.”

Williams, who has been suffering from a hamstring injury for the past two weeks, placed second in the long jump with a career-best distance of 5.58 meters. She also had a third-place finish in the high jump, recording a height of 1.62 meters.

“[This injury] has been pretty frustrating for me since I know I have the potential to do better,” Williams said. “I’m getting stronger each day, but I’m also trying hard to not reinjure my hamstring as well. Hopefully I’ll be fully recovered by conference.”

Despite the success, Stiles is still focused on fine-tuning several aspects of performance, including baton exchanges in relays, which proved to be the Red and Green’s weakness when miscues occurred in the 4×100 relay. The Red and Green hope to make those changes when they attend the Rose-Hulman Twilight meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Friday.