EMPORIA, Kan. - Taking on a much larger field than in the outdoor season opener, Highland collected a smattering of impressive debuts and personal bests at the ESU Spring Open on Friday. Kendall Venyard and Jabari Pemberton turned in new PRs on the men's side for the Scotties while Eva Badji stepped onto the outdoor scene with a new personal best in the long jump and a solid debut in the 100 meters.

In her outdoor debut, Badji finished just three-tenths of a meter off the cut line to advance to the final round in the long jump, battling tricky wind conditions in all three attempts. Her time in the 100 meters was the fifth-fastest community college mark in the field.

Venyard trimmed nearly three-tenths of a second off his previous outdoor best in the 200, also running in a tailwind less than half of his previous mark at the Dean Pryor Invitational. Joining Venyard, Pemberton bested his PR for the 100 meters in less-aggressive wind, trimming two-hundredths of a second with a time of 11.14s.

Jonathan Lynch also set a new outdoor best in the 800 meters with a time of 2:01.06, nearly two seconds faster than his previous top outdoor mark and an even second behind his indoor best.

The Scotties return to Emporia State's Fran Welch Stadium on April 3 for the Midwest Classic.

Composite Results

Women's 100 Meters

23. Eva Badji - 12.73s (w 3.7)
42. Ze'Ja Lee - 13.37s    (w 4.2)

Women's 400 Hurdles

12. Ze'Ja Lee - 1:28.69

Women's Long Jump

18. Eva Badji - 5.14m [16-10.5] (w 4.0)
(5.14 w4.0, 4.71 w3.9, 4.58 w5.6)

Women's Shot Put

33    H'leigha Idol    FR-1    Highland CC    9.60m    31' 6"
(9.60, 9.59, 9.13)

Men's 100 Meters

33. Veon Claxton - 10.98 (w 5.0)
40. Jabari Pemberton - 11.14 (w 4.8)
40. Kendall Venyard - 11.14 (w 4.4)

Men's 200 Meters

31. Kendall Venyard - 23.18s (w 3.5)

Men's 800 Meters

16. Jonathan Lynch - 2:01.06

Men's Long Jump

14. Jabari Pemberton - 6.46m [21-2.5] (w 3.4)
(FOUL, 6.32 w5.1, 6.46 w3.4)

Men's Shot Put

38. Orlando Douglas - 11.11m [36-5.5]
(FOUL, 11.11, FOUL)

Men's Discus

28. Orlando Douglas - 37.98m [124-7]
(37.98, FOUL, 35.24)