MARION, Ind. (Results) -- Indiana Wesleyan University track and field hosted the 22nd Annual Polar Bear Invitational on Saturday afternoon at the IWU Track and Field complex.
The women's team won five events while the men captured four event wins in the non-scoring meet.
Highlighting the Polar Bear was the presence of two of the top women throwers in the world in Erin Gilreath and Liz Wanless, both competing with the New York Athletic Club.
Gilreath competed in the hammer throw at the Polar Bear and won with a throw of 52.16 meters / 171 feet 1 inch.
She is the current American Record holder in the event (73.87 meters / 242 feet 4 inches) and competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Gilreath has won the 2003 NCAA Indoor weight throw championship, is a three-time USA Indoor champion (2004-06), the 2004 Olympic Trials champion, a 2005 USA Outdoor champion and the 2006 USA Outdoor runner-up.
Wanless also won her event, the shot put, with relative ease. Her best throw was measured at 17.79 meters / 58-4.5 feet.
Wanless has finished third at the 2005 and 2006 USA Outdoor Championships in the shot put. She missed a spot on the 2004 Olympic Team by one spot but qualified for Team USA at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships. Last month, Wanless captured second place at the USA Indoor Championship.
The top performances for the Wildcats on the women's side were five first place finishes.
Laura Bowman won two events with wins in the 100-Meter Dash (12.95 seconds) and 200-Meter Dash (26.03 seconds.)
Beka Bentle earned a nine second victory in the 1,500-Meter Run with a finishing time of four minutes 56.13 seconds. Katelin Morgan earned a win for the Wildcats in the field events in the Long Jump with a mark of 4.99-meters / 16-4.5 feet.
Indiana Wesleyan also won a relay race. The 4 x 800-Meter Relay team of Cassidy Wagner, Amanda Johnson, Lindsay Waggoner and Kailee Whitaker crossed the line in 9:39.47 for a 12 second victory.
For the men, Indiana Wesleyan won two field events.
John Bowman threw the Discus 55.79 meters / 183 feet for the win by nearly 40 feet. James Schortgen won the Javelin by nearly 28 feet with a final mark of 55.3 meters / 181-5 feet.
The 4 x 800-Meter Relay team of Dan Carrick, Eric Brown, Bryan Hazel and Josh Foss finished first with a time of 7:55.69.
Bryan Hazel paced the field in the 5,000-Meter Run as he crossed the line first in 15:22.30, five seconds ahead of second place runner Josh Foss at 15:27.41.
Indiana Wesleyan will compete again next weekend at the DePauw Invitational in Greencastle, Indiana.
