Missouri track and field took home five wins total in its second split-squad meet last Saturday at the Iowa State Cyclone Invitational, a tri-team meet against Iowa State and Drake.

Redshirt junior Jayson Ashford performed at a high level in the men’s 60-meter dash, finishing in first place with a time of 7.10. Even though it was a little slower than his 6.81 time two weeks ago at Vanderbilt, he crossed the finish line first, beating out freshman William Skinner from Drake by .24 seconds.

This was Ashford’s second week in a row taking first place in this event, and both were very close finishes, showing his ability to finish out races on top.

Senior Chris Conrad set a new personal record in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:48.45, finishing fourth in the event. He now ranks fourth nationally in the 800-meter race. Freshman Angus Beer finished seventh in the event and is now ranked 14th in the nation.

The men’s team received validation for its performances this weekend, as they became ranked No. 24 in the nation on Monday. This was the first time they have been ranked since the start of last year, when they were ranked No. 24 as well.

“It’s great to see that our men are getting some validation for their efforts over the last year,” coach Brett Halter said. “They have put in a tremendous amount of work and have been competing well. I know they will continue to put in the work and look to move up the ranking over the next several weeks heading into championship season.”

The women also put together a successful day on Saturday.

Redshirt senior Karina Liz took first place for the second time in a row in the women’s 800-meter race with a 2:13.00 mark. It was a close one, as she defeated another Missouri teammate, Kelsey Schweizer, who had a time of 2:13.83.

Junior Morgan O’Neal finished behind them, making the top three runners all representing Missouri, which is a great sign of things to come for this Missouri group as they continue through the season.

Missouri also saw freshman McKenna Revord take home the women’s mile title at 5:22.01. This was her first win of the season.

That rounded out the individual titles, but the Missouri women grabbed first place in the 4×400 race as well with a 3:58.14 time. They beat out Drake, who finished with a time of 3:59.37.

The Tigers will head to Fayetteville again, the second of three trips there, on Feb. 5 for the Arkansas Qualifier next.

_Edited by Jack Soble | jsoble@themaneater.com_