HICKORY, N.C. - In its final indoor track and field meet of the calendar year, the Lenoir-Rhyne Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams won a combined 10 events in the 2023 Bast-Cregger Multi Invitational. 

For the second-straight weekend, the Bears swept in the 60-meter dashes with Alexis Brown and Nurain Musa reclaiming their place at the top of the podium, in their respective events. 

Brown, the sophomore from Mableton, Ga., recorded a time of 7.32, which is a tenth of a second faster than her previous race at Louisville. Meanwhile, Musa, who competed in only his second-ever collegiate meet, posted a time of 6.77. 

The short track remained successful for the LR women after Melody Jones finished first in the 60-meter hurdles. In her first individual event of the 2023-24 season, the junior recorded a time of 8.82, which just edged out her teammate and second-place finisher Sharonda Priester, who ended with a time of 8.95. 

That was not the only 1-2 finish that the LR women had over the weekend. In the 200-meter dash, Jani Day recorded her personal-best time of 26.20 to barely surpass Damyja Ortiz. 

For the men on the track, Marcus Crumpler won the 400-meter event with a time of 49.98. The junior from Huntersville, N.C., has now won the race in back-to-back weekends after finishing first in Louisville on Dec. 2. 

Moving over to the field, the Bears swept the pole vault events with Pearl Ballard and Mike Karicher winning in their respective events.  

Ballard, the junior out of Hendersonville, N.C., recorded a jump of 3.20 meters to beat out the competition by 300 centimeters. As for Karicher, the junior from Fairfax, Va., finished with a leap of 4.35 meters, which is an improvement from his 4.25-meter performance in the JDL Early Bird Invitational on Dec. 3.  

The final individual event that the Bears won was the women's triple jump where Holly Kone recorded a 11.71-meter leap. It was the first time in the 2023-24 season that the junior from Nottingham, England, participated in. 

At the conclusion of the weekend, LR won both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay events. For the women, the team of Ortiz, Day, Priester, and Kone recorded a time of 4:00.71. As for the men, the group of Clarence McGill, John Sisson, Crumpler, and Musa tallied a time of 3:25.98. 

LR Top 10 Results
MEN
60-Meters
1) Nurain Musa - 6.77
3) Trent Davis II - 6.87
5) Marcus Crumpler - 6.97
6) Sincere Moss - 6.97

60-Meter Hurdles
2) Nick Tibolla - 8.21
4) Clarence McGill - 8.49

200-Meters
2) Clarence McGill - 22.64

400-Meters
1) Marcus Crumpler - 49.98
6) John Sisson - 52.80
10) Terry Jayaguru - 53.71

Long Jump
5) Tylei Woolard - 6.53 Meters

Pole Vault
1) Mike Karicher - 4.35 Meters

Shot Put
3) Josh Wise - 14.78 Meters

Weight Throw
4) Monte Scott - 14.15 Meters

4x400-Meter Relay
1) 3:25.98

WOMEN
60-Meters
1) Alexis Brown - 7.32
5) Sharonda Priester - 8.04

60-Meter Hurdles
1) Melody Jones - 8.82
2) Sharonda Priester - 8.95

200-Meters
1) Jani Day - 26.20
2) Damyja Ortiz - 26.20

Pole Vault
1) Pearl Ballard - 3.20 Meters
4) Melena Howell - 2.75 Meters

Shot Put
10) Savannah Nippa - 10.86 Meters

Triple Jump
1) Holly Kone - 11.71 Meters

4x400-Meter Relay
1) 4:00.71

UP NEXT: The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams will be off for the remainder of the 2023 calendar year. Both teams will return to action for either the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, Tenn., or the Finn Pincus Invitational in Salem, Va. Both meets are two-day events that begin on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.