AMES, Iowa – Junior Chelsea Lynes set yet another personal best at the Iowa State Classic and the remaining Fighting Leathernecks picked up eight wins at Monmouth College's Fighting Scots Invitational Saturday (Feb. 11). 

On the final day of the ISU Classic, Lynes used the second fastest performance in program history to win the first heat of the women's seeded 800-meter run. The Woodstock, Ontario native finished sixth overall with a time of 2:10.79, which is just shy of the program record of 2:10.16 set by Lane Suarez in 1985.

Lynes' effort beats her previous personal best of 2:12.33 set at last weekend's Meyo Invitational. She currently ranks fourth overall in The Summit League and 84th nationally.

FIGHTING SCOTS INVITATIONAL 

Senior Dana LaRue and sophomore Nathaniel Marshall easily defeated their throws competition and set personal bests to highlight Western Illinois' effort at the Fighting Scots Invitational.  

LaRue picked up her second shot put victory of the season with a throw of 49-03.50. Her effort is fourth best all-time in program history, second in The Summit League and 60th nationally. Jessica Ortega placed second with a personal best throw of 45-04.25, which ranks seventh in program history. 

LaRue (55-06.50) also finished third in the women's weight throw while Lizzy Jones placed fourth (54-00.50). Other personal bests for the throws squad include freshman Jessica Przyby, who finished 12th with a throw of 41-08.75. 

Meanwhile, Marshall won the men's weight throw with a toss of 59-03.50. His effort ranks sixth in program history, second in The Summit League and 95th nationally. Paul Hames placed second (57-09.50) and Tyler Lippert set a personal best (54-08.00) in a fourth place finish.

Hames (52-00.00) and Marshall (52-00.00) both set personal bests while finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the men's shot put. The duo ranks sixth and seventh in The Summit League. Senior Brayden Sherrick (season-best 49-01.50) placed fifth in the competition while Lippert finished eighth (season-best 46-02.75). 

Junior Jamario Taylor picked up his sixth men's high jump victory this season by clearing a height of 6-10.75. Taylor, who owns eight career high jump wins, ranks second in The Summit League and 46th in the nation with his season-best performance (6-11.75) at the Early Bird Open. 

Sophomore Kirsten Bryant set a personal best in the preliminary rounds (7.86) and won the women's 60-meter dash finals with a time of 7.87. She also placed fourth in the women's 400-meter dash with a personal best time of 59.40.  

Senior Amy Byers won the women's 400-meter dash with a personal best (58.36) to highlight a busy day. She also placed second in both the 200-meter dash (personal-best 26.27) and 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.18, which ranks ninth in program history. Freshman Cedric Cheeks was also busy as he placed second in the long jump (22-01.75) and set a personal best in the 60-meter dash (7.21).

Junior Jeffrey Wooldridge, a transfer from Lincoln College, won his second consecutive 800-meter run competition with a personal-best time of 1:58.23. Jeffrey Liles placed fourth with a personal-best time of his own (1:58.62).

Freshman Matthew Funches, making his first appearance as a Leatherneck, won the men's triple jump with a leap of 45-11.75. The men's distance medley relay squad (10:40.11) of Wooldridge, Jared Summers, David Glenn and Zach Wiedeman was also victorious. 

Freshman Megan McGlone used the sixth farthest triple jump in program history to win the event. Her leap of 37-09.50 currently ranks fifth in The Summit League.  

The men's pole vault duo of Zach Glasebrook and Jeff Veal finished second and sixth, respectively. Glasebrook set a personal best by clearing a height of 14-06.00 while Veal tied his personal best (14-00.00). Glasebrook also set a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles (8.83).

The men's 4x400-meter relay squad posted a season-best time of 3:24.79 and placed third overall. Jordan Liles, Jeffrey Liles, Wooldridge and Michael Hemming now own The Summit League's sixth fastest performance.

Other personal bests include Mackenzie Gray (one-mile run - 5:30.92), Alycia Thurston (5,000-meter run - 18:33.45), Patrick Thomas (200-meter dash – 23.14), Jordan Liles (400-meter dash - 51.51), Wiedeman (one-mile run - 4:24.41) and Mark Holt (3,000-meter run - 9:13.13).

Western Illinois is back in action Friday (Feb. 17) when the Fighting Leathernecks compete in the Iowa Invitational. The meet is Western Illinois' final tune-up before The Summit League Indoor Championships, which take place Feb. 24-25 in Fort Wayne, Ind.

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