LEBANON, Ill. - Webster University continued its outdoor track and field season here Friday by placing eighth out of 16 teams at the McKendree University Bearcat Invitational held at Leemon Field. 

At the event that featured a mix of NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior college teams, the Gorloks scored a total of 33 points in seven of the nine events they entered.

McKendree won the team title as they scored a total of 99 points, while NCAA Division II Lincoln University was second with 96 points and Greenville placed third with 92 points. 

The Gorloks scored a majority of their points in the distance running events as they scored a combined 21 points in the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 meter runs. Webster's other points came in the 100-meter dash, and the high jump. 

Webster's top scorer at the event was senior Nathan Freyling (Fenton, Mo./Fox) as he finished second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:50.76 to score eight points. In addition to Freyling, sophomore Cameron Sakuma (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West) was fourth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:24.19. 

Sophomore Kaelin Triggs (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville) placed third in the 800-meter dash as he ran a time of 1:59.70, which is second-best all-time in school history and it marked the first time in his career that he broke under two minutes in the event. 

Along with Triggs, the Gorloks had three other runners place inside the Top 20 in the 800-meter dash as junior Javier Cervantes (Garden City, Kan./Garden City) was 11th with a time of 2:09.14, while sophomore Gabriel Ayers (Bonne Terre, Mo./Saint Paul Lutheran) was 17th with a time of 2:20.58 and sophomore Christian Gray (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves) was 18th with a time of 2:26.37.

Cervantes scored two points in the 1,500-meter run as he ran a personal time in the event of 4:18.12. 

Senior Carson Gross (Arnold, Mo./Fox) and junior Elijah Perez (Waynesville, Mo./Waynesville) both quaified for the finals in the 100-meter dash as they finished sixth and seventh respectively with times of 11.23 and 11.28. In the preliminaries, Perez ran a time of 11.24 and Gross ran a time of 11.31. 

The final five points were scored in the high jump and pole vault as freshman Armond Williams (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) placed fifth in the high jump with a leap of 5'10.75" (1.80 meters) and freshman Landon Garland (New Cumberland, Pa./Cedar Cliff) was ninth in the pole vault with a mark of 9'.0.25" (2.75 meters). 

Williams was also eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.63, while senior Joe Souvannarath (Imperial, Mo./St. John Vianney) was 14th in the 400-meter run with a time of 54.67.

The Gorloks will continue its outdoor track season next Saturday, April 10 as they compete at the Lindenwood University Invitational in St. Charles, Mo.