Mankato, MN - The MLC men's outdoor track team showed well again at the Minnesota State Open on Saturday. MLC went up against tough D-II and D-III competition and finished fifth (44 points), which was the top finish by a UMAC school competing in the open.

R.J. Perry impressed again in the throwing events and broke his school record in the hammer throw (42.57 meters), which he broke a few weeks ago at Saint John's (MN). Additionally, the sophomore placed ninth in the shot put (14.16 meters) and 10th in the discus (40.99 meters). Jesus Medina was right behind Perry in 12th in the discus, with a mark of 39.82 meters.

Samuel Plocher finished with a PR mark in the high jump (2.05 meters), which put him in second behind Travis Joseph, who had a meet record mark of 2.16 meters. Plocher also had a season-best time in the 110-meter hurdles (15.06 seconds).

The 4x100m relay team (Matthew Hillmer, Lucas Holtz, Stephen Wietzke, and Arthur Robinson) broke their school record, also set at Saint John's, with a new time of 42.98 seconds. The previous time was 43.40 seconds.

In the 200-meter dash, Wietzke (7th, 21.83 seconds) and Robinson (8th, 21.91 seconds) each finished in the top 10 out of more than 40 runners. Robinson also earned third in the triple jump (13.13 meters).

In the 3000m steeplechase, Elijah Hutchinson took fifth with a mark of 11:44.05, while Micah Schibbelhut hit a season best mark in the pole vault (3.75 meters) for second.

MLC men's outdoor track will be at it on Wednesday, April 16, when they go to St. Peter for a meet at Gustavus at 3 p.m.

Full results