CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (April 1, 2023) - The Buena Vista University women's outdoor track & field team began its outdoor schedule on Saturday by taking part in the Mustang Open, hosted by Mount Mercy University. The Beavers had a pair of individuals capture titles on the day as the team finished second among the 13 teams taking part.

Graduate student Becca Simpson picked up where she left off indoors by claiming titles in both the hammer throw and shot put.  She claimed the hammer throw title by over 11 meters with a winning toss of 54.06m, and the shot put at 13.66m to win by 0.44 meters.

Junior Mary Yanga was victorious in the high jump by clearing 1.50 meters.  She finished tied but earned the title by clearing the mark on her first attempt while the runner-up cleared on her second.

Katara Jondle was runner-up in the 100-meter dash with Kylie Johnston right behind in third. Amil-lion Derrick qualified into the finals of the 100-meter hurdles and would finish seventh overall. Hannah Olson was third in the 200-meter dash with Puritie Smith just behind in third. There was less than one second separating the two with Olson posting a time of 27.82 seconds.

Graduate student Emily Hoesing made her season debut by running in the 1500-meter race and placing fifth overall in a time of 5:15.89. Anna Friedrichsen turned in a top-three finish in the discus throw by taking third at 36.22 meters. Courtney Johnson came in third in the hammer with a toss of 43.15 meters. She also landed fifth overall in the shot put.

Jessica Sump, who was conference runner-up in the long jump at the indoor championships, took fourth overall in the event with a leap of 4.89 meters.

The 4x400-meter relay capped off the day with a second-place finish by reaching the finish line in 4:19.32.

BVU continues its outdoor schedule on April 7-8 at the University of South Dakota Early Bird Meet at Vermillion, S.D.