SEWARD, Neb. -- Claire Caspersen qualified for nationals in the shot put and College of Saint Mary won a pair of events to highlight the Flames' performance at the Concordia Invitational on Friday.

Claire Caspersen hit an NAIA Championship "A" qualifying standard throw of 13.65m to finish second in the shot put by just 0.24m. She will compete at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Marion, Iowa at the end of May.

"Today was another good day for our program as we continued to build on their successes from last week. Every event group can point to positive things that happened on the day. In the throws, it's awesome that Claire qualified for nationals again; that is something we will never take for granted," said coach Jerrid Johansen.

The Flames picked up a pair of titles, winning the 4x800m and 3000m steeplechase. The quartet of Mira Fosmer, Natalie Briggs, Corinne Mead, and Brooke Wigdahl took home the title in the 4x800 with a school record time of 10:15.11.

Wigdahl added another top-of-the-podium finish, with a time of 12:09.64 to take the 3000m steeplechase. In doing so, she lowered her school record time by nearly 10 seconds.

"We're excited for Brooke winning the steeplechase and for the 4x800 relay team for winning their race. Winning isn't easy and it's always a good feeling to be the best at your event on that day."

Three other records were set on the day. Kellesse Heard broke a pair, jumping 5.10 in the long jump and running a 12.87 100m. Ava Hilger bettered her own mark in the 200m with a time of 27.17.

Fosmer added a third place finish in the 800m with a personal best time of 2:21.30, one of three CSM runners to finish in the top 10.

Briggs won her heat with a PR of 2:30.94 and Autumn Simons (2:33.46) finished eighth and ninth, respectively.

Madalynn Rhodes finished fourth in the javelin with a throw of 37.31m, missing out on a podium finish by just 0.68m.

Coach Johansen pointed out performance from several athletes, "Madalynn, Tavia Williams (discus, hammer, shot put) and Marie Bias (discus, shot put) did some nice things as well and showed some progress in their events. Kellesse's two school records were the highlights for the sprint/jump crew, but Ava Hilger and Taylor Hrabik also made some big improvements today."

Chainey Thompson picked up the Flames' final top 10 finish with a 10^th place showing in the triple jump, going for 10.19m.

Lorena Ramirez (5:14.85) and Mead (5:18.66) each showed well in the 1500m, both finishing just off the school record pace.

With significant weather in the forecast tomorrow, host Concordia University turned the scheduled two-day meet into a one-day affair. Coach Johansen appreciated the foresight for the CUNE administration, "we're thankful that Concordia made the effort to move the meet to today so we could avoid the extreme winds on Saturday. Our girls took advantage of the opportunity they were given and competed well today."

"Hopefully, we can have a consistent week of training and build towards our next meet." CSM next competes at the Jim Duncan Invitational, hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, Apr. 12.