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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville track and field team will kick off its 2022 outdoor season this weekend, as the Purple Aces will travel to Murray, Kentucky to take part in the Margaret Simmons Invitational hosted by Murray State University. The two-day meet will begin Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. with field events, while running events will start at 4:30 p.m. on Friday night.
Evansville has not competed since taking part in the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships on February 27-28. UE set five school records and over 20 personal-best marks at the Valley Indoor Championships. Now, UE will kick off an outdoor season in which the Purple Aces will compete in six outdoor meets the next six weeks in preparation for the MVC Outdoor Championships the second week in May.
"Going from indoor to outdoor season, the job still doesn't change: our main goal is to go out and set PR marks," said UE track and field head coach Don Walters. "Both teams are at a good place right now, and I think that we will set some PRs this weekend at Murray State."
At the MVC Indoor Championships, senior Skylar Tucker (Linton, Ind./Linton-Stockton) helped lead UE's assault on the record books, as she set a new indoor school record in the 200-meter race, while also establishing a new personal-best mark in the long jump. Fellow senior Taiza Alexander (Berea, Ky./Berea Community) also established a new school record in the 60-meter dash on the women's side.
On the men's side, junior Giovanni Purser (Port Maria, Jamaica) broke the men's 200-meter indoor record with a time of 22.67. Senior Joey Rucinski (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) also broke the school scoring record in the heptathlon, while also rewriting the record books in the 1,000-meters with a school-best time of 2:47.71.
Evansville will face stiff competition at Murray State, as the host Racers won the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships at the end of February, and fellow MVC rival Southern Illinois is expected to compete as well. The meet will conclude on Saturday afternoon.
