The Missouri Southern women’s track and field team hosted the annual MSSU Lion Open Friday and Saturday, when over 1,800 athletes competed at the Lions’ home track inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lions won four events and added four more provisional marks, one second, and two third place finishes.

The highlight of the first day of competition came in the distance medley relay. The team of Dana Roberson, Amber White, Kindra Emberton and Emily Harris won the event and shattered the facility record, posting a time of 11:54.08. The mark was only 2.42 seconds shy of breaking the school record and was a provisional qualifying mark that, after conversion, ranks nationally in the top five for the event.

“I was really proud of our DMR team,” said Harris. “We pulled it together and have a great chance of placing at nationals.”

The day’s other victory also came from White in the 200-meter with a time of 25:31. However, White’s dominance did not end there as she returned the following day to claim first place in the 400 with a time of 58:07

Day two’s other winner was Harris, who again claimed victory, this time in the 3k, setting another provisional mark with a converted time of 9:57.56. Her DMR teammate Kindra Emberton placed second in the 800 with another provisional on a converted time of 2:14.13, currently good for No. 18 in Division II.

“I’m definitely more proud of the relay,” said Emberton. “I expected us to do well but didn’t expect to be ranked in the top five. I feel honored to be a part of a team with some of the top runners in the nation. There is no doubt in my mind that at the end of that season, the record board will say Roberson, White, Emberton and Harris next to the DMR. It would mean the world to me to know that I was a part of team that has some of the hardest working athletes at Missouri Southern.”

The majority of the Lions will be back on the track today for the Oklahoma Baptist Invite at the University of Oklahoma for a late season tune-up before the conference meet takes place Feb. 27. Elsewhere, White and fellow senior Kaitlyn Belisle will compete in the Tyson Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas.

“Conference will really be the time where we hope to have some great performances,” said head coach Patty Vavra. “We’re preparing them to compete well and trying to decide what athletes should be in what events; there’s some strategy that goes into it. The urgency to get a good mark sometimes becomes pressure for the athletes when we get down to the nitty-gritty of only having two weeks to go [before conference], but in many cases that’s a great motivator.”