Troy University track and field wrapped up its first competition of the season Saturday at the Blazer Invitational at the Birmingham Crossplex Arena.

On Friday, three runners from the women’s team finished in the top-four in the 5000-meter run. Key returner Julia Ostendorf finished second with a time of 18:17.23. Mikayla Hodges placed third and Samantha Smith finished fourth, both just seconds short of Ostendorf.

Freshman newcomer Naomi Sheppard finished the women’s 1000-meter run with a time of 3:16.01 in her first track and field race for the Trojans. Erika Kulp and Kristina Bokenfohr finished right behind Sheppard with times of 3:16.50 and 3:29.17, respectively.

In the women’s distance medley, Troy’s team of Marsel Mosley, Paige McMillian, Alyssa Staubach and Sara Zylstra placed fourth in with a time of 13:11.10.

For the men’s team, Troy freshman Joesph Giese placed third in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:35.09. Shakiel Parker completed the race in 2:46.12, and Madison Estes finished seconds off of Parker with a time of 2:48.88.

Chaun Lynn was the only Troy runner in the 500-meter run as he finished in 12th place finish with a time of 1:06.46.

In the field events on Friday, Zach Douglas placed fifth in the men’s weight throw with a distance of 17.09 meters. Myles Charley completed the men’s triple jump with a distance of 14.71 meters, good for sixth place.

On Saturday, the women were led by freshman Niata Alexander as she finished sixth overall in the 400-meter run and fourth overall in the 200-meter run.

For the men, the Troy 4×400 relay team composed of Christian Knight, Calvin Lysell, Giese and Lance Holley placed eighth, while Dylan Ogburn placed and Tim Bulger finished fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 3000-meter run.

In the field, Douglas finished third overall in the shot put with a distance of 15.69 meters, and Charley placed fifth in men’s long jump with a distance of 6.86 meters.