Murray State track and field athletes notched more personal records last weekend at the Carbondale Invite, including distance runner junior Emma Gilmore, whose first time running the mile broke the school record.

The Racers competed against Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Austin Peay State and Lipscomb.

The Racers finished with 47 points in fourth place, which was 28 points behind SEMO who finished with 75 points.

Taking home second place were the Austin Peay Lady Govs with 75 points and bringing home first was SIU Carbondale with a total of 235 points.

Head Coach Jenny Severns said she was more than happy with the meet and the records set. She said that at this point in the season the team is turning the corner and reaching its full potential.

“We had a lot of personal records set this week, even those that did not PR started to make their comeback” Severns said.

Junior Emma Gilmore ran a 4 minute, 59.58  second mile this weekend and broke the school record in her first time running the event.

“The school record was a huge cherry on top of a great weekend,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore said at this stage in her career the five-minute barrier is something she was aiming to break and now that she has she couldn’t be more exited for the future.

Friday and Saturday Gilmore will take on the mile for the second time in hopes of shaving off a few more seconds in order to cushion the school record.

Gilmore also set a personal record in the 3000-meter run, crossing the finish line at 10:25.06.

Brittany Bohn was right behind Gilmore with a 4 minute, 59.64 second mile. Bohn also set a personal record in the 3000m at 10 minutes, 10.34 seconds.

Other athletes that had a season best performance at last weekend’s invitational include:

• Tia Weston set her career best at 59.90 in the 400-meter run.
• Ashley Conway competed in the long jump where she set a record distance of 5.55 meters.
• Deja Rodgers qualified for finals in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.81. In finals she ran a 7.81.
• Brianna McCarthy threw a 13.29 in the shot put, her new personal record.
• Abbie Lukens set her personal record when she threw a 12.58 meters in the shot put.

The Racers will travel on Friday and Saturday  to Allendale, Mich. and compete in the Grand Valley State Big Meet.

Story by Da’Sha Tuck, Staff writer