NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Senior Stephanie Place won the 5,000-meter run, freshman Emily Weinzetl came within one second of a school record in her first career 400-meter dash, and Tennessee Tech’s women’s track & field team had four personal-best performances Saturday at the Tennessee State University Invitational in the Gentry Center.

No team scores were tallied in the meet, which featured 20 teams.

Place, the 2009 OVC Cross Country Runner of the Year, opened the track season by capturing first place in the longest and last event of the day, the 5,000-meter run. While she was well off her own school record pace, Place cruised to the victory by nearly 16 seconds when she crossed the finish line in 18:11.52.

Senior Ashley Evans finished seventh in the 5K run in 19:49.97, while junior Tiffany Palmer checked in with a career-best 19:51.17 to finish eighth.

Weinzetl, a freshman from San Antonio, finished in 24th place in the 400-meter dash in 1:02.76, her first race as a Golden Eagle. It was one second shy of the school record. Sophomore Leayn Carter (1:05.45) was 32nd, and sophomore Danielle Catlett (1:07.03) finished 37th in the same event.

Amanda Simmons posted a pair of personal best efforts Saturday. The junior from Woodstock, Ga., finished 18th in the mile in 5:50.78, and waa 24th in the 800-meter run in 2:33.55.

Ashley Evans, a senior from Jackson, Tenn., had the other personal best mark, finishing 21st in the mile in 5:56.07.

Sophomore Ashley Mayhew had two of Tech’s best finishes at the TSU event. She placed seventh in the shot put (38 feet, 11 1/2 inches), and 10th in the weight throw (36 feet 3/4 inches).

Tech had two other top 10 finishes Saturday. Amber Vandyken, a freshman from Dunlap, Tenn., placed 10th in the triple jump (32 feet, 1 1/2 inches). The distance medley relay team of Palmer, Weinzetl, Philpott and Place earned a third place finish in 12:55.49.

Complete Tech Results

WOMEN’S EVENTS

Weight Throw
10 Ashley Mayhew 36’ 3/4”
19 Rachel Forbes 26’ 3”

Long Jump
16 Jenna Philpott 16’ 8 3/4”
25 Leayn Carter 15’ 1/2”

Triple Jump
10 Amber Vandyken 32’ 1 1/2”

Shot Put
7 Ashley Mayhew 38’ 11 1/2”
22 Rachel Forbes 27’ 11”

Mile Run
18 Amanda Simmons 5:50.78
21 Ashley Evans 5:56.07
28 Traci Jones 6:04.86

400m
24 Emily Weinzetl 1:02.76
32 Leayn Carter 1:05.45
37 Danielle Catlett 1:07.03

60m Hurdles
21 Rachel Forbes :10.74
22 Amber Vandyken :10.81

60m Dash
32 Ifeyinwa Eguzo :08.69
36 Amber Vandyken :08.94
37 Rachel Forbes :08.97

800m
24 Amanda Simmons 2:33.55
27 Traci Jones 2:26.10

200m Dash
40 Ifeyinwa Eguzo :28.44
52 Amber Vandyken :30.56

4x400 relay
15 Carter, Philpott, Catlett, Weinzetl 4:22.64

Distance Medley Relay
3 Palmer, Weinzetl, Philpott, Place 12:55.49

5,000m Run
1 Stephanie Place 18:11.52
7 Ashley Evans 19:49.97
8 Tiffany Palmer 19:51.17

MEN’S EVENTS

Mile Run
13 Sam Taylor 4:39.09
19 Peter Woerner 4:44.78
25 Ben Shassere 4:53.55

800m Run
31 Sam Taylor 2:08.70

Distance Medley Relay
9 DeLorenzo, McGroom, Read, Shassere 11:19.41

5,000m Run
8 Peter Woerner 16:13.11
13 Jarrad Read 16:32.03