MOBILE, Ala. – The Mercer Bears had an impressive showing to the start of the outdoor season with a multitude of first-place finishes at Friday's Jaguar Open hosted by South Alabama.
In the 100-meter dash, Sydney Campbell took home the gold with a time of 12.31 seconds and teammate Chidimma Uwaomah came home sixth, running the event in 12.81 seconds. Marion Meadows won the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.18 seconds.
Cherrish Wright was victorious in the 100-meter hurdles, taking home first place in her main event with a time of 14.38 seconds.
Perhaps the most impressive showing for the Bears came in the 400-meter dash as the team swept the top five finishing positions. Carlandra Jones (57.59 seconds) won the event and was followed by Tessola Duncan (58.45), Kennedi Weston-Shields (59.13), Markiema Lancaster (59.62) and Samaiya O'dneal (1:00.53).
The final two events that that the Bears claimed victories in were the long jump and 4x100-meter relay. Campbell won her second event of the turning with a stellar jump of 5.57 meters.
In the relay, the quartet of O'Denal, Wright, Meadows and Duncan clocked in at 47.66 seconds to earn the win over Lane College.
The Bears also fared well in distance events with Guilia Giorgi taking home second with a time of 2:24.45. She finished less than one second behind Troy's Amaya Anderson.
In the 3,000-meter run, Ashley McMahon set a PR with a winning time of 10:36.052. She followed by Marina Van Sickle, who took second, finishing the event in 11:01.317. The Bears swept the top three spots as Jerrica Hanson turned in a PR with a mark of 11:04.167
Whitney Johnson (5:22.71) and Madison Cowart (5:29.50) paced the Bears, finishing fourth and sixth respectively. Johnson set a new PR.
The Bears will be idle next weekend before participating in a pair of events starting on March 20. The distance runners will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to participate in the 49er Classic, while the rest of the team will make the trip to Orlando, Florida, for UCF's Black and Gold Invite.