BILLINGS, Mont. – In a scored meet against mostly conference opponents, the Lady Argo outdoor track and field team finished third in the Yellowjacket/Battlin' Bears Open while the UGF men finished fourth. The meet was a small competition and UGF sent a number of its top throwers to the Whitworth Twilight Meet instead, in order to get extra experience in certain events.
 
Of those who traveled to to Billings, sophomore runner Claudia Hewston was one of the biggest standouts. Hewston earned 14 total points individually for the Lady Argos between two events. She finished in second and set a new personal record in the 400 meter dash (1:00.26) and took third in the 200 meter dash (28.15) after running mostly mid-distance events so far during the outdoor season.
 
"Claudia had a fantastic day with great performances in both the 400 meter and 200 meter," UGF had coach Bill Brist said. "This kind of speed really shows us that she is ready to do great things in the 800 and 1500 in the near future."
 
Even with some of the team's top female throwers in Spokane, Wash., the Lady Argos still dominated the throwing events in Billings. UGF athletes won both the shot put and the javelin throw, while taking second in the discus and shot put.
 
Senior Ashley Thoeny was the one to take first in the shot put with a top throw of 13.07m. That throw will send Thoeny to the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship for the second straight year. Thoeny also placed third in the discus (33.05m) but she finished behind teammate Autumn Rehbein who took second (33.29m). Senior Taylor Statton won the javelin (41.17m) while teammate Aspen Jore took third (34.83m).
 
Senior Jake Henry was the top performer for the UGF men. Henry took third in both the shot put (12.85m) and the discus (38.68m). Junior Kayden Keller placed 5th in the 800 meter race with a time of 2:06.69, shaving two seconds off his seed time.
 
"I thought that everyone did well for our men," Brist said. "The weather had an effect on marks, but I was impressed with their ability to compete."
 
Over in Spokane, sophomore Daphne Puckett took first in the shot put with a new school record distance of 13.42m, which broke the previous record of 13.20m set by Thoeny last year. Pucket also place fourth in the hammer throw (45.91m) while Breanna Jones finished just behind her with a throw of 44.61m.
 
The team's next event will be in Helena, Mont., at Carroll College on Friday, April 22.