RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University track team continues its 2000 outdoor season this weekend with an appearance in the Mountain State Classic, hosted by West Virginia University at Morgantown, WV.

"This meet will help us work on our competition level and our conditioning for the rest of spring," said EKU head track coach Rick Erdmann. EKU competed last weekend at the North Carolina State University relays where the women's team excelled in the 100 meter-hurdles and the 100 and 200-meter relays.

On both days of the meet, seniors Kenyetta Grigsby and Lystra Bartholomew placed in the top ten of the 100 meter event. In the prelims last Friday, Grigsby and Bartholomew placed eighth (14.31) and ninth (14.34), respectively, and they followed that up Saturday in the finals by finishing sixth (14.41) and eighth (14.64), respectively.

Also highlighting the women's team performance was freshman Kathy Dodsworth who placed sixth in the discus throw with a distance of 45.98 meters. Finally, the 4x100 relay team placed sixth with a time of 46.9 and the 4x200 relay team placed fifth with a clock time of 1:40.53.

Freshman James Mutuse starred on the men's side with a sixth place finish in the 3000 steeplechase event with a time of 9:06.16. Mutuse also finished 13^th in the 5,000-meter run with his 14:20.56 time.

Other men's team highlights had JaiDante Burton run a 48.24 in the 400-meter dash, Alex Bannister clock in at 14.87 in the 110-meter high hurdles and Soto Ogawa put in a 31:20.92 10,000-meter run.

"Our first outdoor competition showed who trained over the break and who didn't. It was a tough competition that had more than 3,000 athletes there, and I thought our women's team made its presence felt," said Erdmann.