MURRAY, Ky. – University of Evansville senior Joey Rucinski (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and the Purple Aces' 4x100-meter relay team both posted third-place finishes on the final day of the Margaret Simmons Invitational in Murray, Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

Rucinski, who finished second in the pole vault on Friday evening, placed third overall in the javelin throw with a personal-best mark of 44.09 meters (144'8").  Rucinski's toss ranks as the eighth-best mark in school history, with the top seven belonging to senior teammate and school record holder Justus Donaldson (Mattoon, Ill./Mattoon).

"Joey had a tremendous weekend this weekend," said UE head track and field coach Don Walters.  "Like I said yesterday, every time that he goes out to compete, he is always trying to get better.  And, it seems like every week, he sets a new PR in some event.  He has been locked in all season."

UE's 4x100-meter relay team of Brendon Smith (Newburgh, Ind./Castle), Geordan Blades (Avon, Ind./Avon), Greg King (Indianapolis, Ind.), and Giovanni Purser (Port Maria, Jamaica) also posted a podium finish, placing third overall with a time of 42.95.  Like Rucinski, the quartet was able to crack UE's career top 10 in the 4x1 event, as it currently ranks as the tenth-fastest time in school history.

"The 4x1 team ran really well today, but the scary thing is, there were still a few small mistakes that were made there and they can still go even faster as a group," said Walters.  "We'll definitely take it today, but I am really looking forward to seeing what that group can do together this year."

Individually, Evansville posted five top 10 finishes on the day.  Rucinski was joined in the javelin's top 10 by junior Zach Dove (Princeton, Ind./Princeton Community), who placed sixth overall in his first-ever collegiate javelin competition with a toss of 34.55 meters (113'4").  Senior Trey Riggs (Ft. Branch, Ind./Gibson Southern) placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.28.  Blades posted a ninth-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.017, while senior Taiza Alexander (Berea, Ky./Berea Community) placed ninth in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.20 meters (17'0.75").

UE also posted five personal-best marks on the afternoon.  Rucinski not only PR'd in the javelin, but also set a new personal standard in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.20.  Freshman Preston Riggs (Ft. Branch, Ind./Gibson Southern) set a personal-best mark in the high jump with a leap of 1.75 meters (5'8.75").  And, on the women's side, juniors Mariah Schaefer (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) and Claire Griffy set personal-best marks in the 100-meter hurdles and the 1,500-meters, respectively.

"Overall, that's what it is all about – setting new personal-best marks," said Walters.  "For our first time outside this year, we'll take the effort this weekend, and hope to build on it next week with a short week of practice coming up."

As a team, Evansville placed sixth on the men's side and 21^st on the women's out of 23 competing teams.  Evansville will have a short week of practice this week, as the Purple Aces will travel to Charleston, Illinois on Friday to take part in the EIU Big Blue Classic.