Nelvins and Meyer among top finishers at Orange and Blue Open in Illinois

The Arkansas State track and field teams returned to action Saturday at the Orange & Blue Open hosted by the University of Illinois.

Junior thrower Julia Agawu finished second in both the weight throw (17.64m) and the shot put, but her throw of 14.33m in the shot put was the second-longest throw in Arkansas State history.

Sophomore Richard Chavez was the top collegiate finisher in the men's shot put with a throw of 17.02m.

Sophomore hurdler Sherika Nelvins finished first in both the preliminaries and the final of the women's 60-meter hurdles posting times of 8.32 and 8.31 respectively.

Sophomore Shane Heathcock was fourth overall but was the top collegiate finisher in the men's pole vault with a jump of 5.19m.

Sophomore Will Oliver continued his string of solid performances winning the men's long jump with a jump of 7.24m.

The Red Wolves got solid finishes in both the men's and women's 400 and 800-meter runs.

Sophomore Joseph Meyer won the men's 400 with a time of 48.97, while Allyson Perry was second in the women's 400 at 1:00.22.

ASU also took second place finishes in the men's and women's 800 as freshman Tilda Helgesson posted a time of 2:23.85 and junior Robert Lanier had a time of 1:59.97.

ASU's distance runners also ran well on Saturday, as senior Bailey Bunyan was the top collegiate finisher in the men's 3K with a time of 8:37.20.

Sophomore Kristina Aubert was second in the women's 3K and led three top 10 finishers for the Red Wolves.

Aubert clocked a time of 9:59.24 followed by junior Samantha Salinas in fifth (10:15.54) and senior Chelsea Weaver in seventh (10:19.93).

ASU will compete in the Indiana Hoosier Hills on Friday in Bloomington, Ind.