Several WKU competitors took home first-place finishes on Feb. 4 in Champaign, Ill., at the Illinois Orange and Blue Open.

Senior thrower Monteka Flowers placed first in the weight with a throw of 59-0.75. She also competed in the shot and placed third with a put of 5-3.75.

Even though she took home first place in the weight, Flowers said she wanted to do much better.

“Throwing this weekend didn’t go the way I wanted it to go,” she said. “I wanted to do better. I thought I was feeling well, but it just didn’t go the way that I planned.

“My coach took me, and we both walked out to my weight marks. It wasn’t far off from where I have been. He said, ‘Teka, please don’t flip out on me. Trust me, everything will be alright. We are going to get you to where you want to go.’”

Fellow field event jumper senior Suzzette Van-Lare also took home a first-place win by tying in the high-jump. She cleared her season best of 5-3.75.

For the men’s team, sophomore sprinter Marcus Winstead and senior sprinter Cailean Robinson were next in the meet to compete.

In the 60-meter dash, Winstead earned the fastest preliminary time of 6.85 seconds, while Robinson took second in the finals at 6.89 seconds.

Robinson also ran the 200-meter dash and won with a time of 22.26.

Senior distance runner Michelle Finn won the women’s 800 meters in a time of 2:16.14.

Junior thrower Houston Croney earned second in the weight throw with a marking of 58-0.50.

For the second weekend in a row, the Toppers’ 4×400-meter relay team won first in the relay with a time of 3:20.02, ending the meet on a high note.

WKU’s track and field team will separate this weekend, as some will travel to compete between the SPIRE Institute Division 1 Invitational in Geneva, Ohio and the Middle Tennessee Valentine Invitational in Murfreesboro, Tenn.