BOULDER, Colo. -- April 8, 2017 -- Hammer throwers were among the pacesetters for the Chadron State College track and field team this weekend at the University of Colorado's Invitational Meet in Boulder.

Senior Mel Herl of Eaton, Colo., added three and a half feet to her school record in the hammer with a mark of 199-2 ¾ and junior Jesse Bleidt, a graduate of Garden County High at Oshkosh, hurled the instrument 189- ¾, the second best mark all-time for a Chadron State male. 

Both Herl and Bleidt placed second in the event against strong competition that included athletes from all four of the Division I institutions in Colorado, the University of Wyoming and several Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, plus a number of former collegiate standouts who are continuing to compete.

The women's hammer throw was won by Kelcey Bedard of Colorado State at Fort Collins with a mark of 206-6 ½ and the men's hammer winner was Daman Unland of Wyoming at 194-11 ¾.

Bleidt's throw was his career best by 10 feet.  The Chadron State men's hammer throw record was set earlier this spring by Cory Martens of Newton, Kan., with a mark of 193-11.  Martens was fifth in the in the event at the CU Meet at 181-5 ½.

Another of the Eagles' throwers, Ashlyn Hanson, a junior from Aurora, Neb., was sixth at the meet in Boulder with a career best of 186-1 ½.  Herl and Jessica Horsley in 2011 are the only CSC women with longer marks in the hammer.  Hanson's previous best was 178-1.

Herl also placed third in both the shot put (48-6) and the discus (152- ½) this weekend.  At previous meets this spring, she shoved the shot 50-2, her career-best outdoors, and sailed the discus 174-4 to break her school record of 170-0 that earned fourth place at the 2015 National Championships.

She won the gold medal in the shot put at this year's NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships with a CSC record of 51-9.

Another Chadron State national champion, senior Stachia Reuwsaat of Rapid City, won the long jump Saturday by going 19-9 ¾, an inch short of her season-best. She has won the long jump at the last two NCAA II National Indoor Championships and was the runner-up at the National Outdoor Meet last spring with a school-record leap of 21-2 ½.

Reuwsaat did not run the 100 meters, another event in which she excels, at the Colorado Meet.

Sophomore Kahlil James was second in the triple jump this weekend by going a career-best 46-6. Another strong mark was turned in by Alisha Heelan of Oshkosh, who ran the 400 meters in 57.72.  Only Tiffany Thomas, Shelby Bozner and Monique Fair have run the race faster for the Eagles.

A handful of CSC distance runners took part in the Bauer Invite in Rapid City, hosted by South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Among those, a trio of freshmen - Dominique Oden and Venessa Sawyers in the 1500 meters, and Savannah Silbaugh in the 5000 meters - bettered their season's best times from two weeks prior at the Yellow Jacket Spring Open.

A complete list of CSC's placings and marks follow: 

CU Invitational Women's Results
                100—5, BrookLynn York, 12.61.
                400—7, Alisha Heelan, 57.72.
                100 high hurdles—4, Tessa Gorsuch, 14.24.
                4x100 relay—4, Chadron State, 47.18.
                4x400 relay—4, Chadron State, 4:02.24.
                Shot put—3, Mel Herl, 48-6.
                Hammer throw—2, Mel Herl, 199-2 ¾ (school record); 6, Ashlyn Hanson, 186-1 ½.
                Discus—3, Mel Herl, 152- ¼; 5, Keri Ruff, 143-9 ¾.
                Javelin—5, Ashlyn Hanson, 113-6 ½; 8, Chasidy Horton, 101-6.
                Long jump—1, Stachia Reuwsaat, 19-9 ¾; 5, Maddie Brashears, 18-3 ¼.
                High jump—7, Haley Gallagher, 5-3.
                Pole vault—4, Haley Gallagher, 10-8; 5, Tory Snyder, 10-8.
CU Invitational Men's Events
                4x100 relay—5, Chadron State, 41.99.
                4x400 relay—4, Chadron State, 4:21.19.
                Shot put—5, Blake Jacobs, 52-6 ¾.
                Hammer throw—2, Jesse Bleidt, 189- ¾; 4, Cory Martens, 181-5 ½; 7, Blake Jacobs, 172-3 ¼.
                Discus—4, Cory Martens, 159-9 ½.
                Long jump—7, Kahlil, James, 21-10.
                Triple jump—2, Kahlil James, 46-6; 5, Dez Smith, 45-2 ½.
Bauer Invitational Women's Events
                1500 meters—6, Dominique Oden, 5:16.98; 8, Callie Johnson, 5:26.30; 9, Venessa Sawyers, 5:26.90
                5000 meters—2, Savannah Silbaugh, 20:47.40
Bauer Invitational Men's Events
                800 meters—7, Taylor Dick, 2:03.87
                1500 meters—12, Taylor Dick, 4:19.20; 16, Zach Doffin, 4:50.09
                5000 meters—2, Josef Gertner, 16:35.76