ST. LOUIS – The Saint Xavier University men's track & field team started the Outdoor track & field season competing in a pair of meets in St. Louis, Mo. on Friday and Saturday. Junior Ben Morrey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) made his collegiate debut in the 5,000m and sophomore Luis Lopez (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) established a new personal record (PR) in the race for the Cougars at the Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) WashU Distance Carnival on Friday. On Saturday, SXU tied the program record for highest finish in a meet by placing 2^nd out of 20 teams, totaling 91 points at the St. Louis University (Mo.) Billikins Invitational, 16 points behind the hosts.

Last season at the Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) Tiger Open, Saint Xavier placed second for the first time in team history. The 91 points accumulated by the Cougars are the third most at any meet behind 106 at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Outdoor Championships in 2014 and the team record of 123.5 points at the CCAC Championships in 2023.

Morrey recorded a time of 15:52.84 out to place 176^th out of a field of 349 runners from across the NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA levels. Lopez shattered his old PR by more than 25 seconds when he crossed the line at 16:25.75.

On Saturday, senior Lendale Franklin (Chicago, Ill./Roosevelt/Argo Community) broke his own school record in the 100m Dash with a first-place time of 10.68 seconds. He became just the second sprinter to win the event, joining former standout John Stancato (2011-15) who won the race at the CCAC Championships on April 20, 2013 and at the Ted Hayden Invite on April 5, 2014. Franklin hit the NAIA 'B' Standard in the 110m Hurdles after breaking his own program record as well with his second-place time of 14.32 seconds.

Senior Ayobami Arokoyo (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) also took home first place honors, winning the Discus with the third-best throw of his career at 54.23m and hitting the NAIA 'A' Standard. It was the 10^th time that he has won the discipline, the only SXU thrower to win the Discus.

• Also on Saturday, sophomore Nazheer Moore (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) PR'd in the 100m with a time of 11.13 seconds (11.122 seconds) to place 11^th, narrowly ahead of junior Ryan McFadden (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) who also registered a time of 11.13 (11.124 seconds) for a 12^th place draw.
• In the 200m Dash, junior Sean Harris (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower) set the SXU record clocking in at 21.17 seconds and hitting the NAIA 'B' Standard. Moore set another PR with a time of 22.63 seconds.
• Junior Charlie Zufan (Orland Hill, Ill./Andrew) ran the third-fastest time in school history in the 400m with a fifth-place time of 50.06 seconds. Junior Myles Money (Crete, Ill./Marian Catholic posted the second-best time of his career after finishing ninth with a time of 51.22 seconds.
• Running in the 1500m, senior Jonathan Jacobo (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower) shaved over seven seconds off his previous PR with a mark of 4:03.08, the ninth-best time in team history.
• Redshirt junior Karam Jaber (Palos Heights, Ill./Shepard) set a new PR in the 400m Hurdles, and broke the Saint Xavier record that stood since 2010, when he placed third at 55.15 seconds. He topped the record of 55.37 seconds set by former standout Chris Spencer (2009-10) at the University of Illinois Twilight meet on April 30, 2010.
• Senior Josiah Sianez (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower) competed in the 3000m Steeplechase, clocking in at 10:34.90 to place eighth.
• The Cougars featured two groups in the 4x100 Relay. The 'A' squad of McFadden, Harris, Money and Franklin ran the second-fastest time in school history at 41.87 seconds. The 'B' group of sophomore Jayquan Hampton (Chicago, Ill./Ogden International), Zufan, Jaber and Moore placed fifth overall with the eight-quickest mark ever for SXU at 42.74 seconds.
• The 4x400 Relay Team of Money, Zufan, Harris and senior Ronnie Foster (Peoria Heights, Ill./Peoria Heights) finished in sixth place with a time of 3:29.46.
• Freshman Tracy Lee (Chicago, Ill./Proviso West) made his Outdoor debut, setting the team record in the High Jump with his eighth-place jump of 1.75m. It was just the third time in Saint Xavier history that they had a jumper compete in a meet.
• In the Long Jump, Foster recorded a distance of 6.47m for a sixth-place draw. Sophomore Faruq Sulaimon (Oak Forest, Ill./Andrew) established a new PR with his mark of 5.90m.
• Foster broke his own program record in the Triple Jump, placing second overall with a distance of 14.51m. Sulaimon narrowly set a new PR at 12.08m, topping his old best of 12.07m.
• Competing in the Shot Put, Arokoyo posted the fourth-best throw in school history at 15.34m to place fourth. Junior Riley Lundgren (Loves Park, Ill./Harlem) recorded his second-best career throw for a fifth-place finish at 14.13m. Senior Isaac Adams (Mackinaw, Ill./Dee-Mack) logged a toss of 12.76 for a 10^th place draw. Sophomore Thomas Imburgia (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) registered a new PR with an 11^th place throw of 12.72m. Freshman Luis Perez (Oak Lawn, Ill./Richards) made his Outdoor debut with a distance of 10.58m.
• Imburgia took sixth in the Discus with the second-best throw of his career at 40.40m. Lundgren finished 10^th overall with a distance of 38.32m. Sophomore Connor Whalen (Burbank, Ill./Reavis) PR'd in the event with a toss of 35.96m, while Perez logged a throw of 31.82m.
• Whalen destroyed the school record in the Hammer by nearly five meters and smashed his old PR by over 17 meters with his fourth-place distance of 47.35m. Junior Justin Laws (Roxana, Ill./Roxana), the previous record holder, topped his old PR with a seventh-place toss of 44.74m. Adams PR'd as well, logging the third-best throw all-time for the Cougars at 43.08m to place ninth. Lundgren registered the third-best throw of his career at 38.45m. Imburgia joined his teammates by setting a new PR of 37.52m.
• In the Javelin, Perez finished 11^th overall with a distance of 38.60m. Fifth-year senior Martin Tolentino (Burbank, Ill./St. Laurence) posted the fifth-best throw of his career at 35.31m

Saint Xavier is scheduled to participate in the two-day Chicagoland Championships hosted by Elmhurst University (Ill.) beginning on Friday, April 4.