March 22, 2009
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (SMU) - Freshman thrower Simone Du Toit won the shot put and finished third discus to lead the SMU women's track and field team at the Trojan Invitational at USC Saturday.
In the Mustangs' first outdoor meet of the season, du Toit won the shot put with a throw of 15.73 meters (51-feet, 7.25-inches), her best effort of her freshman season at SMU. Teammate Ayla Gill finished first in Section B with a throw of 13.11 meters (43-0.25) - the ninth-best overall mark in the meet and also her best mark as a Mustang. Junior Lauren Kuhner placed 16th in Section B with a toss of 10.54 meters (34-7).
In the discus, Christina Mueller won the event with a heave of 50.28 meters, or 164-feet-11-inches, while du Toit finished third in the event at 49.04 meters (160-11). Sarah Siddens placed 20th in Section B with a throw of 29.98 (98-4).
The Mustangs continued their strong showing in the throwing events in the hammer throw, thanks to third- and fourth-place finishes by Gill, who threw 53.68 meters (176-1), and Kuhner, who threw 53.26 meters (174-9).
The Mustangs had two relay teams finish among the top 10 in the 4x400-meter relay. SMU's "A" team of Alexandria Smith, Ilyssa Pettigrew, Amber Evans and Gayla Cloud finished third, in 3:46.65, while the Ponies' "B" team of Chelsea Wells, Ebony Cuington, Lakeisha James and Nnenna Ejesieme placed eighth, in 3:54.02.
Pettigrew also fared well individually, placing fourth in the 400-meter dash, in 56.97, while James finished 10th, in 60.38
SMU had three runners place in the top 30 in the 200-meter dash. Evans finished sixth, in 24.82, while Smith placed ninth in 25.06 and Donisha Weightman finished 28th, in 26.63.
Valerie Lindenmuth placed fifth in the high jump when she cleared 1.53 meters (5 feet, 0.25 inches).
The Mustangs' deepest performance was in the 400-meter hurdles, with four runners finishing among the top 20. Ejesieme finished sixth, in 63.68, Wells was 12th, in 64.75, Cloud placed 14th, in 65.45 and Cuington finished 17th, in 66.46.
Meanwhile, Kuhner placed 17th in the 100-meter hurdles, in 15.85, while Kathleen Hoogland and Aasha Marietta finished 18th and 22nd, respectively, in the 800-meter run, clocking times of 2:27.67 and 2:34.31.
Complete Meet Results in PDF Format 
