MAGNOLIA, Ark. – For the first time this season, the Southern Arkansas University men's and women's Track and Field teams will get to compete in their home complex, as the Muleriders will be hosting the 5^th Annual Dan Veach Invitational. The one day event will take place this Saturday at the Mulerider Track Complex and will feature 11 different teams made up of NCAA DI, DII, DIII and NJCAA.
 
The men and the women have both competed in two outdoor meets this spring. The Muleriders opened up the season at Mississippi College where the two squads combined for 75-top 10 finishes. The men left Mississippi with 36-top 10 finishes while the women notched 39-top 10-finishes.
 
SAU last competed a week ago at the Louisiana Classics on the campus of Louisiana Lafayette, which featured a lot of good DI competition. The Muleriders combined for 32-top 15 finishes in their trip to the Bayou State and also a new school record. The men earned 21-top 15 finishes while the women came away with 11.
 
On the men's side, true Freshman La'Dainian Hendrix has had a good start to his Mulerider career as he led SAU in the 200m dash in Louisiana with a 14^th place finish out of 67 runners after clocking a 21.76. Hendrix also notched a top-10 finish at Mississippi College in the 200m dash. The freshman also notched a top-15 finish in the 100m dash last week after setting a new PR with a time of 10.77.
 
Bryson Johnson recorded two top-10 finishes in Mississippi in the 100m dash and 200m dash. B. Johnson notched a third place finish in the 100m dash after clocking a 10.60 and a fourth place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 21.85. Travon Johnson finished one spot behind his brother in fifth place in the 100m dash with a time of 10.67, while also finishing in the top-10 in the 200m dash.
 
Brandon Sofi notched a fifth place finish in the 100m hurdles at the Mississippi College Season Opener with a time of 15.79 and he finished with a new PR of 15.43 in the La. Classics last weekend for an 11^th place finish. Sid Hampton has recorded two top finishes in the 400m hurdles.
 
The men's 4x100m relay team (Christian Mosley, William Vickery, Bryson Johnson, and Travon Johnson) has ran well in their two meets. The team notched a second place finish in Mississippi after running a 41.87. and followed that performance up with a third-place finish in the La. Classics after having a time of 41.56. The Muleriders took down several Division I schools in the race including Lamar, McNeese State "A &B" team.
 
Kris Shumaker has made a smooth transition into throwing the Javelin for the Muleriders after being a member of the SAU baseball team for two seasons. Shumaker set a new personal record of 51.79m in the javelin throw last weekend which earned him sixth place and also it sits him atop the SAU record book. Shumaker's throw of 169' 11" breaks the old school record of 167" 6" which was held by Richard Barkhimer. Shumaker earned a first place finish in Mississippi to open the season after tossing his Javelin for a mark of 51.05 m.
 
Ja'Kamron Zackery earned three-top 15 finishes last weekend with his performances in the discus (third place, 46.88m), hammer throw (13th place, 42.39m (PR)), and the shot put (eighth place, 14.68m(PR)). Zackery also earned a fifth place finish in the discus throw in Mississippi as well as a seventh place finish in the hammer throw.
 
Derrick Onyeador earned himself a top 15 finish in both the high jump (ninth place, 1.85m) and long jump (13th place, 6.52m (PR)) in the La. Classics, while earning a fourth place finish in the high jump in Mississippi after recording a 1.90m. Dariusz Patterson finished in second place in the triple jump to open the season after leaping for a 13.76m.
 
The women have seen three first place finishes this season. Rozlyne Manor notched a first place finish in the 400m hurdles to open up the season after recording a time of 1:06:18. Alexis Matlock recorded a first place finish in the high jump after recording a leap of 1.65m in Mississippi.
 
Cecilia Quesada came in first place in the steeplechase with a time of 12:13.15 to open the season in Mississippi College, and she was accompanied by teammates Alyzah McGlasson (second place) and Logan Warren (third place) right behind her.
 
Kamrin Hooks had a good showing in Mississippi as she notched a second place finish in the 400m dash with a time of 1:01.09 and a sixth place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 25.43.
 
The Muleriders had two-top 15 finishes last weekend in the 400m hurdles. Kaliyah Thompson and Aaliyah Thompson were neck and neck with each other all race as Kaliyah earned the 14th spot with a time of 1:10.84. Right behind her was her sister Aaliyah in 15th with a time of 1:11.37.
 
Dakota Cassidy competed in the 5000m run last week in the La. Classics and notched a third-place finish after setting a personal record time of 19:40.81. 
 
Devlin Rivera notched a second place finish in the triple jump to start the year after leaping 11.34m. Rivera also earned a top 15 finish last weekend in the long jump after notching a 5.06m.
 
Shardanay LaMark did well in the hammer throw last weekend as she set a new personal record of 46.38m. The new PR earned LaMark the seventh-place spot in the hammer throw. Nicole Morris recorded two-top 10 finishes in the discus and hammer throw in Mississippi. Morris notched a second place finish in the discus with a throw of 38.76m and a third place finish in the hammer throw after recording a 40.89m.
 

Schedule of Events | SATURDAY, MARCH 26
Field Events
8 AM 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 PM	WEIGHT IN OPENS HAMMER (M THEN W)  JAVELIN (W THEN M) POLE VAULT (M THEN W) HIGH JUMP (W THEN M) LONG JUMP (W THEN M) TRIPLE JUMP (W THEN M) - to follow Long Jump DISCUS (M then W) SHOT PUT (W then M)
RUNNING EVENTS	NATIONAL ANTHEM BEFORE START
12 PM 1 PM (Rolling Schedule)	3000 METER STEEPLE (W THEN M) 4 X 100 RELAY (W THEN M) 1500 METER (W THEN M) 100/110M HURDLES (W THEN M) 400 METER (W THEN M) 100 METER (W THEN M) 800 METER (W THEN M) 400 HURDLES (W THEN M) 200 METER (W THEN M) 5000 METER (W THEN M) 4 X 400 RELAY (W THEN M)