Men’s and Women’s Track and Field
The University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s and women’s track and field team combined for 18 top-10 finishes in the Principia Relays, held indoors Friday and Saturday at the Crafton Athletic Center in Elsah, Illinois, with a field of 21 programs from across all levels of the NCAA along with the NAIA and NJCAA. The women’s team picked up 10 of those top-10 finishes, and senior Kayley Heeter led the way with a third-place finish in the women’s mile with a time of 5 minutes, 42.98 seconds. Teammates Lily Wagemann and Ella Tynan finished sixth and 10th, respectively, in the same race. Dominica Rooks finished fourth in the 500 meters with a time of 1:25.73 while UMSL runners Megan McMillen and Peyton Brueck placed sixth and seventh, respectively in the women’s 3,000. The Tritons placed third in the sprint medley relay and 3,200-meter relay. Kennedy Moore and Melissa White were both part of the spring medley relay team, and Moore finished ninth in the long jump while White placed ninth in the triple jump. On the men’s side, Jonny Key won the 3,000-meter race in 8:41.19, and his UMSL teammates Emmett Johnson and Matthias Shelp were ninth and 10th, respectively. Caleb Leach placed fourth in the mile in 4:31.08, and Johnson was also ninth in that event. The Tritons’ distance medley relay team with Leach running the final leg finished fourth overall. Elijah DuBose picked up a sixth-place finish in the triple jump and a seventh-place showing in the long jump. Both UMSL teams next compete at the Washburn Open this Friday and Saturday in Topeka, Kansas.
Women’s Basketball
The Tritons split a pair of home games against Missouri S&T and Maryville last week, routing the Miners 72-47 on Thursday but coming up short in the waning seconds of a 67-65 loss to the Saints on Saturday. UMSL jumped on S&T with a 12-2 first-quarter run and never looked back, pulling ahead 20-8 at the end of the first quarter and never trailing over the game’s final 38 minutes. The Tritons outscored the Miners 21-4 in the third quarter. Mara Rieder scored 18 points off the bench to lead UMSL. Jalysa Stokes had 16 points, and Emerson Weller and Alex Wolff finished with 14 and 12, respectively. The Tritons held S&T to 28.8% shooting. UMSL could not match the fast start in Saturday’s game against Maryville. The Tritons fell behind 35-25 at halftime but a third-quarter surge pulled them back to within 51-50 heading into the final period. They pulled ahead by as many as four points in the fourth quarter and were up 65-62 after Audrey Martinez-Stewart‘s free throw with 1:23 remaining. But the Saints scored the final five points, including three free throws in the final minute. Stokes and Rieider each had 18 points in the loss. The Tritons only shot 8 for 19 from the free-throw line. UMSL (8-11, 6-7) will have to try to bounce back on the road as it takes on Northern Iowa on Thursday and Truman State on Saturday.
Men’s Basketball
UMSL withstood a furious second-half rally to beat visiting Missouri S&T 78-75 on Thursday but wound up on the other side of a 65-62 final score against Maryville on Saturday at the Mark Twain Athletic Center. The Miners missed 11 of their first 12 shots on Thursday, and the Tritons were ready to take advantage, building a 22-16 lead with 9:37 left in the opening half. They carried a 43-26 advantage into the locker room after Savon Wykle‘s 3-pointer and led by as many as 19 points in the second half before S&T mounted its comeback. The Miners got as close as 73-70 in the final minute and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the final margin to three points. Mayson Quartlebaum scored a career-high 26 points in UMSL’s victory. Kris O’Neal II had 16 points off the bench, and Wykle scored 14, including two late free throws to help hold off S&T. Saturday’s game was closer throughout with UMSL holding a 32-31 halftime lead but trailing 61-52 heading into the final five minutes. The Tritons were able to claw back to 65-62 on Matt Enright‘s 3-pointer with 50 seconds left, but neither team scored the rest of the game. Terrell Kabala missed a 3-pointer that would’ve tied the game with 5 seconds remaining. Enright finished with a team-high 15 points, Quartlebaum added 15. Troy Glover II scored eight points and had a game-high 11 rebounds. UMSL (8-11, 6-5) will take to the road this week with games at Upper Iowa on Thursday and Truman State on Saturday.