Led by Haile Wilson's national ranking time in a first place finish in the men's 60M dash, the Webster University men's and women's indoor track team burst onto the scene in its first meet of the season.   No fewer than 17 freshmen made their track debuts for the Gorloks at the Snow Bird Open at Jacksonville, IL, on January 24.
 
Wilson's (FR, St. Louis, MO/Eureka HS) time in the men's 60M dash not only placed him first out of 48 runners in the event, his time of 6.99 is the 14th best in the NCAA III so far in the 2014-15 indoor season.  Wilson's time smashed Webster's record of 7.17 set by Zach Zurfluh-Cunningham in 2014.
 
Other notable performances on the men's side included David Lambus' (JR, St. Louis, MO/University City HS) first place finish in the One Mile Run in 4:26.28, besting his own school record of 4:29.26 set last year.   Jason Hickson (SR, Hillsboro, MO/Hillsboro HS) finished seventh in the Mile Run at 4:47.92.
 
Mason Stevens (FR, Oakdale, CA/Dixon HS) broke ground for the Gorloks by being the first pole vaulter in the program's history.  Stevens vaulted 3.61M for a seventh place finish in the event.  Another first for the men was having entries in the weight throw, where Noah Laster (SO, St. Louis, MO/Parkway North HS) had a throw of 9.66M.  Ryan Robbins (FR, Clarksville, MO/Clopton HS) also participated in the weight throw as well for the Gorloks.
 
For the women's team, Lauren McClain (SO, Barnhart, Winsdor HS) was third out of 29 throwers in the shot put, landing at 11.11M.  McClain also broke ground for the Webster program by becoming the first woman to enter in the weight throw, finishing seventh out of 21 at 10.73M.
 
Also for the women, Holly Goergen (FR, Phoenix, AZ/Shadow Mountain HS) ran the One Mile Run in 5:58.54, good enough for sixth place out of 18 runners.  Donalda Desir (FR, Naples, FL/Lely HS) ran the 400M dash in 1:07.24, finishing 14th.  Her time in the 400 was the fourth best in the women's program history.
 
Overall the men finished eighth out of 14 teams and the women 11th in a field of primarily NAIA programs that award athletic scholarships.  Webster was one of only four NCAA III programs out of the 14 competing.  Full results for the Snow Bird Open can be found HERE.

The Snow Bird Open was hosted by Illinois College.  The teams are back in action on January 30 at Principia College, then will travel to Jacksonville, IL, for the Jim Green Invitational on February 7.