CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Mustangs hosted the Mustang Open at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex on Saturday. The women finished atop the leaderboard while the men placed fourth. Strong individual performances in multiple events propelled the Mustangs to favorable finishes at their home meet.

Jon Andersen (SR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) placed first in the 5000 Meter Race Walk with a personal best and school record time of 24:02, which qualified him for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships under the "B" Standard. Luke Nickelson (JR/Nipomo, Calif) took home two first place finishes with a personal best mark of 1.92m in the High Jump and 6.94m in the Long Jump. On the women's side, Kathryn Vander Poel (SR/Bakersfield, Calif.) placed first in the 800 Meters (2:20.05) and won the 1500 Meters with a personal best time of 4:50.52. In the 5000 Meters, Vanessa Cortes (JR/Bakersfield, Calif.) won with a personal best time of 18:26.03. McKenna Johnson (SO/Asbury, Iowa) finished first in the 3000 Steeplechase in 11:42.45, which was a personal best for her.

Top 10 Finishes (Men)
Connor Christophersen (JR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 100 Meters – Fourth Place (11.52)
Christophersen – 200 Meters – Third Place (22.46)
Souleymane Diallo (SR/Washington, D.C.) – 400 Meters – Fourth Place (51.90)
Michael Marshall (SR/Center Point, Iowa) – 800 Meters – Seventh Place (2:01.48)
Cameron Steffens (SO/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 1500 Meters – Fifth Place (4:14.69)
Sayed Opeyany (JR/Concord, Calif.) – 1500 Meters – 10th Place (4:17.47)
Colton Forster (SR/Marion, Iowa) – 5000 Meters – Third Place (15:09.89)
Josiah Watson (FR/Walnut, Calif.) – 400 Hurdles – Seventh Place (1:00.44)
Jasper Severn (JR/Arcata, Calif.) – 3000 Steeplechase – Third Place (10:10.96)
August Stamp (SR/Colona, Ill.), Christophersen, Josh Harmon (SO/Flagstaff, Ariz.), Diallo – 4x100 Relay – Third Place (43.31)
Watson, Hunter Filloon (SO/Toledo, Iowa), Mahlon Steepleton (SO/Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Devin Blish (SO/Des Moines, Iowa) – 4x400 Relay – Seventh Place (3:42.57)
Marshall, Jacob Blackmon (JR/Bakersfield, Calif.), Josh Long (SR/Belle Plaine, Iowa), Steffens – 4x800 Relay – Third Place (8:27.18)
Christian Reischauer (JR/Colo, Iowa) – Long Jump – Sixth Place (6.45m)
Charles Chihak (JR/Lisbon, Iowa) – Javelin – Eighth Place (39.55m)

Top 10 Finishes (Women)
Sophie Feahn (FR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 100 Meters – Fourth Place (13.36)
Feahn – 200 Meters – Fifth Place (27.38)
Andrea Ertz (JR/Central City, Iowa) – 800 Meters – Sixth Place (2:25.94)
A, Ertz – 1500 Meters – Second Place (4:53.43)
Alexa Zamora (SR/Apple Valley, Calif.) – 5000 Meters (19:04.06)
Emily Erickson (FR/West Des Moines, Iowa) – 5000 Meters (19:33.63)
Lauren Thome (SR/Waterloo, Iowa) – 5000 Race Walk (42:46)
Angela Willoughby (FR/Altoona, Iowa), Feahn, Brie Fuller (FR/Fairfax, Iowa), Rachel Gadient (JR/Anamosa, Iowa) – 4x100 Relay – Fourth Place (51.26)
Mady Roth (JR/Bakersfield, Calif.), Jessica Ertz (JR/Central City, Iowa), Kelsi Huhndorf (FR/Marion, Iowa), Erickson – 4x800 Relay – Fourth Place (10:23.56)
Gadient – High Jump – Second Place (1.49m)
Jasmine Wardell (JR/Marion, Iowa) – Shot Put – Fourth Place (11.93m)
Hannah Lueck (FR/Dyersville, Iowa) – Shot Put – Eighth Place (11.21m)
Lauren Willson (SO/Walker, Iowa) – Shot Put – 10th Place (11:05m)
Wardell – Discus – Fifth Place (35.78m)
Wardell – Hammer – Seventh Place (41.06m)
Gadient – Javelin – Third Place (34.79m)
Karley Jaynes (SR/Urbana, Iowa) – Javelin – Eighth Place (30.09m)

Up next, the Mustangs will travel to Dubuque, Iowa for the Good Friday Invitational on Friday, April 19 with events starting at 10:30 A.M.