With four top finishes and several notable performances, the Saluki field team took second place during the weekend’s Illini Classic in Champaign.

The meet featured teams from the University of Illinois Champaign, Western Kentucky University, Marquette University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Senior thrower Kim Fortney and sophomore Brian Sauer led the team’s field portion through the weekend with individual first-place finishes.

Fortney highlighted the meet as she claimed her first season win with the top shot put finish. The thrower, who claimed her first win of the season, beat the competition with a 15.85-meter final throw. Sophomore throwers DeAnna Price and Ashley Gaston rounded out the top five with fourth- and fifth-place finishes respectively.

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The women throwers continued to impress by taking seven top-10 finishes through the weekend.

Price took first place with a 19.08-meter throw in the finals. Fortney and sophomore Sophia Lozano were also featured in the top five with respective second- and third-place finishes. The womens’ track and field team has seen early success this season and hasn’t failed to place an athlete in the top ten in 2013.

The men’s field team also executed a dominant performance during the weekend. Freshman standout Josh Freeman proved he could keep pace with upperclassmen teammates as he notched a winning 18.19-meter shot put throw.

Freeman’s performance ranks him fifth of all Saluki indoor shot put records. He shocked the crowd as he threw nearly four feet longer than runner-up Illinois sophomore Brandon Noe.

Sophomore thrower Bradley Sauer claimed the first-place finish for the men’s weight toss. Sauer, who has previously competed for the Salukis in the NCAA outdoor track regionals, posted a 19.91-meter toss and eclipsed the other competitors by almost three feet.

The track and field team will travel Friday to Kentucky for the Rod McCravy Invitational at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.